The Hindu : Meet to focus on peacekeeping techniques

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003

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Meet to focus on peacekeeping techniques

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI FEB. 10. The first-ever peacekeeping exercise on Indian soil and the biggest ever in the region involving military and civil police personnel from over a dozen nations began here today.

The fortnight-long exercise, mainly involving Indian and U.S. military personnel besides representatives from 11 other nations, is intended to familiarise them with techniques and principles of peacekeeping in a multilateral environment.

The training will assist participants in understanding the problems that arise when national armed forces with different histories, professional cultures and procedures operate together.

The rationale was explained succinctly by the U.S. Ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill, through a French proverb. "You all understand better than most how important peacekeeping is and the wisdom of the French proverb — `It is late to be digging a well when you are feeling thirsty'.

``In this sense, you will be digging wells for the next two weeks for a time when you may be asked to provide the international community with water."

"Exercises such as Shantipath, reciprocal visits and bilateral exchanges are key building blocks for future U.S.- India interoperability," he added.

Named "Santipath-03", this is the seventh of the series of peacekeeping military exercises that India and the U.S. have jointly undertaken in the past two years but the first exercise of this scope and scale being undertaken in Asia Pacific region," an official U.S. statement said.

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