India –US military exercise in 2019

New Delhi: The US and Indian militarise will carry out large-scale joint exercises off India next year, top officials said Thursday.

The drills would be a first of sorts — the two countries’ forces have not previously trained simultaneously in the air, on the land and at sea.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the announcement at the end of a summit with US Defence Secretary Jim Mattes, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

“We have decided to carry out for the first time a tri-services joint exercise with the United States off the eastern coast of India in 2019,” Ms Sitharaman said.

The two countries also signed a “Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement”, known as COMCASA, that will enable them to exchange sensitive military information speedily.

The US only signs COMCASA agreements with trusted allies and Washington hope to deepen its military ties with India.