The exercise, Lamitye, will be held in Mahe Island in the archipelago. The exercise, Lamitye, will be held in Mahe Island in the archipelago.

At a time when India is looking at building a military base in Seychelles, in an attempt to counter China in the economically significant Indian Ocean Region, units from the Indian Army and Seychelles People’s Defence Forces will train together from February 24 to March 4 at Mahe Island in the archipelago, with a focus on fighting insurgency and piracy threats.

The exercise is called ‘Lamitye’, which means friendship in Creole. It will be centred around the use of modern equipment for surveillance and tracking, and specialist weapons for anti-terror operations. To enhance military cooperation and interoperability between the armies of the two countries, India and Seychelles have been holding joint training exercises since 2001.

The unit of Indian Army from the Southern Command, which has its headquarters in Pune, will jointly practice for counter-insurgency and counter-terror operations in a semi-urban environment under the United Nations charter. A revised agreement, signed between the two countries, aims at the development of military infrastructure by India on the Assumption Island in Seychelles. The Seychelles archipelago falls on one the most important sea routes in the world.

A press release by the Army stated, “The use of modern equipment for surveillance and tracking, specialist weapons for close quarter battle with terrorists, use and detection of improvised explosive devices as well as the latest communication equipment will be fielded during the exercise. The contingents will train, plan and execute a series of well-developed combined tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peacekeeping operations, keeping in view the prevalent insurgency and piracy environment. The exercise will focus on achieving optimum cohesion and interoperability in accomplishing common military objectives.”

The release added, “The nine-day long event will see the contingents hone their tactical and technical skills in countering insurgency and terrorism in UN Peacekeeping scenario, involving the activation of the joint operations centre of the Seychelles People’s Defence Force. The Seychelles People’s Defence Force will be represented by a total of 52 personnel from their Special Forces Unit, Coast Guard and the Air Force, whereas an Infantry Platoon from the Southern Command will represent the Indian Army.”

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