By IANS
New Delhi : Twenty-five soldiers from the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) have arrived at the Indian Army’s elite Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) at Vairengte in Mizoram for an intense four-week training course.
“The MNDF are keen to learn from the Indian Army’s experience in combating insurgency for the last 50 years,” a defence ministry release Tuesday said.
And, there can’t be a better staging ground for this exchange of expertise between the two forces than the CIJW School that has as its motto ‘Fight the guerrilla like a guerrilla’.
Recognized as a centre of excellence for counter-insurgency training, the school trains all ranks of the Indian armed forces, the paramilitary forces and central police organisations.
As its commandant, Brig. R.M. Painuly, says: “Low intensity conflicts are becoming global in scope. It is widely believed that terrorism is becoming less territorially defined, global in reach and more decentralized.
“Indeed, terrorism has now truly become a global phenomenon. They are no longer bound by limits of geography.
“Modern militancy has become a complex phenomenon. The globalised world is now matched by a globalised militant ideology. We need to tackle the menace of terrorism globally and hence joint training is a step towards this,” Painuly maintains.
Going global, the school is providing training to officers and personnel below officers rank (PBOR) of various friendly countries including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Botswana, Bangladesh, Nepal, Ghana, Iraq, Kenya, Mauritius, Singapore, the Seychelles, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Myanmar, Kyzgystan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Nigeria.
“The training facilities provided by the school are greatly appreciated by the participating countries. Many other countries have elicited interest in the training being imparted and the demand is on the rise,” the release said.