September 13, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 15, 1424

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NEW DELHI, Sept 12: India and the United States on Friday completed a week of joint military exercises in the Ladakh region, as Washington said it was offering spy aircraft to the Indian navy.

Indian officials said the joint exercises by special forces from the two countries would continue for another week in the heights of Ladakh’s Himalayas, which overlook both Pakistan and China.

“It is for the first time that battalion-sized contingents from India and the United States are conducting a high-altitude exercise in India,” a defence ministry official said without elaborating on the nature of the training.

The US embassy in New Delhi on the eve of the event had said the two-week manoeuvres would focus on training for high-altitude operations, including “mountain safety, acclimatisation and medical aspects.”

Indian troops and the airforce had previously joined US forces in similar manoeuvres in the mountains of Alaska.

The US troops were flown to Ladkah on Hercules transport aircraft on Sept 5 and then ferried to an undisclosed location for the exercises.

Pakistan on Monday criticized the joint exercises between its South Asian neighbour and the United States, its partner in the war on terror.—AFP