Joint Naval exercises tool for projection of nation's soft power, says Lt Gen Manoj Pande

New Delhi [India], December 18 : Highlighting India's "resolve and commitment" towards joint Naval exercises, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, Commander-in-chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command on Friday said that besides generating goodwill, joint exercises are a tool for projection of a nation's soft power.
Addressing a webinar on 'Changing Dynamics of Indian Ocean Region', Lt Gen Pande said, "Besides generating goodwill, Joint exercises with foreign navies are also a tool for projection of a nation's soft power i.e culture, language, culture, customs and beliefs and help establish a unique spirit of bonding."
Highlighting India's "resolve and commitment" towards joint exercises, Lt Gen Pande said even during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, coordinated patrols and passage exercises were conducted by us.
"The relevance of joint exercises with foreign navies will only increase in the future in the emerging security dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The scope and participation in these exercises, need to be progressively enhanced to meet the traditional and non-traditional security challenges," General Pande said.
Looking ahead, India needs to consolidate its gains and explore new areas and dimensions of cooperation, said Lt Gen Pande, adding that these exercises can also validate and further improve information sharing arrangements to build better maritime and as well as underwater domains.
Reiterating the new maritime security paradigm, Lt Gen Pande added: "Our maritime strategy, therefore, should continue to evolve and adopt a multipronged approach of which cooperative engagement and joint training with navies will form a key element."
The webinar was conducted by the Centre For Joint Warfare Studies in collaboration with the Army Design Bureau and Indian Military Review.