The 16th meeting of the India-Russia Military Technical Cooperation Working Group, for instance, will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.The Indian delegation will be led by the director-general of defence acquisitions in the meeting, which will include the inking of a joint protocol. Concurrently , the two countries will also hold a top meeting on shipbuilding, aviation and land systems, which will be co-chaired by the defence production secretary from India.The fine balance India is trying to strike between the two erstwhile Cold War rivals is also evident in the way the Indian Army will hold combat exercises with US and Russian forces this month.The 'Yudh Abhyas' exercise between US troops from Fort Louis and Madras Regiment soldiers will be held at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand from September 14 to 27. The 'Indra' exercise between Russian soldiers and Kuma on Regiment troops will be held at Vladivostok from September 22 to October 2.After Indian, US and Japanese warships conducted the top-notch Malabar exercise off Okinawa in June, India and Russia will hold their Indra naval wargames in the Indian Ocean around December. "Russia was worried whether India wanted to continue complex projects like the FGFA. In effect, the US-Russia rivalry to woo India in the military arena continues.

Source: Economic Times September 07, 2016 00:20 UTC