India on Monday announced plans for its largest military manouevres in 13 years, saying the wargames near the border with arch-rival Pakistan would help train combat troops to survive nuclear strikes.
The defence ministry in New Delhi said the exercise involving 60,000 troops backed by armour and a strike force drawn from India's nuclear-capable air force will be held in the northern desert state of Rajasthan early in May.
A defence ministry spokesman told AFP that New Delhi had given advance notice to Islamabad of its plans to hold the "corps-level" wargames, codenamed "Complete Victory", to avoid military tensions with its estranged neighbour.
"Since the manoeuvres are more than a division-level (20,000 men) exercise, we have informed Pakistan in advance," the official spokesman said.
"Complete Victory" will be on the same scale as India's "Brass Tacks" wargames in Rajasthan in 1987 that brought the two South Asian rivals dangerously close to war -- NEW DELHI (AFP)
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