New Delhi hosts the Indo-Pacific Armies Chief Conference from September 25 to September 27, 2023, with over 30 countries participating. The event aims to promote peace and stability in the region and will foster mutual understanding and dialogue among the Indo-Pacific partners. The representatives will discuss issues of mutual interests, with more than twenty chiefs of friendly armies expected to attend.
The participating countries include the United States of America, France and the United Kingdom (UK) and the national capital will host over thirty countries for the Indo-Pacific Armies Conference from September 25 to September 27, 2023.
The Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference (IPACC) and the Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar (IPAMS), Senior Enlisted Leaders Forum (SELF) will be specifically held at the Manekshaw Centre, in Delhi Cantonment from September 25 to September 27, 2023, for ascertaining multi-lateral security partnership in the region said sources in the Indian Army.
Significance of the Event
The important event, said the Army Officials takes place regularly to thrash out differences, build trust and better communication among the professional armies for a free and open Indo-Pacific. It also attempts to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) by the way of pushing by the way of pushing mutual understanding and friendship, they observed.
The IPR is spread over six of the most populated countries in the world including India, China and Indonesia. The region also accommodates seven of the ten largest armies. Other than border contentions and sovereignty concerns, the multi-lateral events will also address other security challenges such as terrorism, natural disasters and climate change.
The gathering of senior officials of the armies comes at a time when India is negotiating border issues with the PLA (Chinese Army) in Eastern Ladakh following the Galwan Face-off in May 2020.
The 19th Round of Corps Commander Corps between India and China on August 14, 2023, to break the logjam over disengagement from Depsang Plains and Demchok owing to Beijing’s stand that it predates Galwan Face-off. But not much headway has been made despite the fact that the Corps Commander from both sides met more than once since then. Not just India, but others in the Indo-China grouping are also wary of Chinese expansionist designs.
Dignitaries Invited
The Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army (Pacific) Lt Gen James B. Jarrad came down recently to India and met the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Delhi Area Lt General Dhiraj Seth to oversee the preparations for multilateral engagements.
The US Army Chief of Staff (COS), General James McConville along with his delegation will be present for the three events that he will co-host along with the Chief of Indian Army Staff General Manoj Pande. This will be the 13th IPACC, 47th IPAMS and the 9th SELF
The Indian Army Officials stated that the exact number of the land forces delegates from the Indo-Pacific Countries is not known yet since the early process of seeking confirmations has not been exhausted so far.
But it is learnt that Army officials of thirty countries are expected to participate through nearly forty nations like Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Cambodia, Brunei, Maldives, DPRK and New Zealand make up the region.
Previous Conferences
The previous IPACC took place in 2019 to discuss the Environmental Impact on Land and Littoral Operations given that it’s a bilateral annual conference while the Bangladesh Army was the host of IPAMS last year, where deliberations were focused on “Prospects and Challenges in maintaining Peace and Security in the Indo-Pacific.”
