Vice Chief of Army visits US Indo-Pacific Command
   Date :21-Oct-2020

S K Saini_1  H
 Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. S K Saini during his visit to US Army 25th Infantry Division Lightning Academy on Tuesday. (ANI)
 
 
NEW DELHI :
 
VICE Chief of Army Lt Gen S K Saini on Tuesday visited the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii and held talks with senior American military commanders on ways to enhance strategic cooperation between the two forces, officials said. The US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), comprising over 3,75,000 military and civilian personnel, is one of the largest unified formations of the US armed forces and it is tasked to protect Washington’s interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
 
The visit by the Vice Chief of Army Staff to the command comes against the backdrop of renewed efforts between India and the US to bolster cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, which has been witnessing growing Chinese muscle-flexing. Military officials said Lt Gen Saini interacted with Lt Gen Mike Minihan, Deputy Commander of the Command, on military cooperation and future engagements between the two forces. The Vice Chief of Army Staff is on a four-day visit to the US from Saturday. Lt Gen Saini also visited the 25th Infantry Division Lightning Academy of the US Army where he interacted with troops and witnessed a jungle training session.
 
“Lt Gen S K Saini #VCOAS #IndianArmy visited US Army 25th Infantry Division Lightning Academy. He interacted with troops after witnessing Jungle Training & Chinook Helicopter Sling Load Carriage,” the Army tweeted. The visit by Lt Gen Saini to the US took place ahead of the third edition of the two-plus-two dialogue which is expected to take place on October 26 and 27.
 
US Secretary of State Pompeo and Defence Secretary Defence Secretary Mark Esper are scheduled to visit India for the dialogue. The Indian side at the talks will be represented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The first two-plus-two dialogue was held in Delhi in September 2018 after the mechanism was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.