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Pokhran (Rajasthan), Mar 20: Foreign military observers are all praise for a war game the Indian armed forces conducted in this desert region, and hope for greater military-military ties between their countries and New Delhi. 

“It was an admirable effort. We already knew India's armed forces are very professional. The exercise has only reinforced this," Col. Yossi Turgeman, the Israeli Military Attaché in India, told IANS at the conclusion of the event at the sprawling Pokhran Field Firing Range (PFFR) on Wednesday.

Turgeman was among the upwards of 100 observers from 59 countries who attended the day-long "Brazen Chariots" drill jointly staged by the Indian Army's Pune-based Southern Command and the Indian Air Force's Gandhinagar-based South West Air Command.

“The exercise had focus on jointness, which is increasingly how wars will be fought in the future,” Turgeman said.

He also termed as “very professional” the briefing he and the others received from Maj Gen G P Kamath, General Officer Commanding of the Indian Army's 12 Division that was at the forefront of the exercise.

He hoped that greater India-Israel cooperation would spread from the defence sphere to other areas too. Israel has emerged as the second largest arms supplier to India after Russia.

“Very speedy, very fast,” commented Brig Gen Ian Poulter, Chief of Staff (Operations) of the Canadian Army who flew to India for the exercise. Asked if there were any lessons to be learnt, he replied in the affirmative. “We are in Afghanistan (with the US-led coalition) and we operate in terrain somewhat similar to this. It is in our interest to attend exercises like this,” he added. “It was a significant exposure for us since we are in Afghanistan and Iraq," added Col Paul Peterson of the Australian Army, who is attending a course at the premier National Defence College (NDC). “It was an important exercise that was excellently organised. There was a lot of modern equipment on display,” he added.

Australia was among the five countries along with India, the US, Japan and Singapore that participated in the Malabar naval exercise, the largest to be held in the Bay of Bengal last month.

There has been a hiccup of sorts since then. The new Australian government pulled out of a quadrilateral dialogue also involving India, the US and Japan, fearing this would annoy China. < “It was an excellent experience in the way the armed forces can work together," said Captain Mohammad Anwar of the Bangladesh Navy, who is also attending an NDC course in India. "India has tremendous capabilities.”

Brigadier Faisal Abdullah of the Kuwaiti Army, who too flew to India for the exercise, reacted similarly: “It is fantastic. I have never seen anything like this before... The Indian Army is very big.”

He also hoped for greater military-military cooperation between the two countries, pointing out that Kuwaiti officers attended a variety of defence-related courses in India.