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Context:

The 4^th edition of India- Malaysia Joint Military Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI commenced at Bentong camp, Pahang district, Malaysia.

Details:

Indian contingent comprising of 78 personnel is being represented by a Battalion of MAHAR Regiment. The Malaysian contingent is being represented by 123 personnel from The Royal Malaysian Regiment.

About Exercise Harimau Shakti

It is an annual training event conducted alternatively in India and Malaysia. Last edition was conducted in Nov 2023 at Umroi Cantonment in Meghalaya, India.

The objective of Exercise Harimau Shakti is to further strengthen interoperability between the Indian Army and the Malaysian Army in conducting sub-conventional operations under the UN mandate.

Aim:

To enhance joint military capability of both sides to undertake counter insurgency operations in jungle terrain under Chapter VII of the United Nations Mandate. The exercise will focus on operations in the jungle environment.

Phases:

• Phase I: The first phase will be focused on cross-training between both the Armies including lectures, demonstrations, and practices of various drills in jungle terrain.
• Phase II: In the final phase both Armies will take an active part in a simulated exercise, wherein troops will execute various drills including Anti-MT Ambush, Occupation of Harbour, carrying out Recce Patrol, Ambush, and an Attack on the area taken over by the terrorists.

About India-Malaysia defense relations:

• India established diplomatic relations with the Federation of Malaya (predecessor state of Malaysia) in 1957. There is considerable goodwill for India in Malaysia at the people-to-people level, which hosts approximately 2.75 million PIOs, which is the second-largest PIO community in the world after the US and the third-largest Indian diaspora in the world.
• India-Malaysia defense relations have steadily grown over the years. The MoU on Defence Cooperation signed in 1993 is the cornerstone of defence relations between the two countries which allows for widening the scope of existing bilateral cooperation to include joint ventures, joint development projects, procurement, logistic and maintenance support, and training.
• Regular Staff Talks between the services at the apex level have been extremely successful. Indian Navy ships regularly pay port visits to Malaysia, which provides an opportunity for both navies to interact and engage with each other and also foster bonds of lasting friendship.
• India has been a regular participant at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) and Defence Services Asia (DSA) Exhibition in Malaysia.

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INDIA AND MALAYSIA RELATIONS

Source:

PIB