AGRA, May 11: Special forces soldiers from the United States and India on Saturday took part in their first wargames in 39 years, marking a milestone in military cooperation between the two countries, officials said.

Army commanders said earlier the military manoeuvres would be held in the backyard of the Taj Mahal and continue for two weeks in a facility where India’s military trains its elite para commandos.

On Saturday the exercises were kept under wraps, with officials refusing to divulge details.

“The only thing that nags us is whether these American troops can withstand the arid conditions of the exercise theatre,” an Indian official said. Temperatures are currently rising to 44 degrees Celsius in India’s parched northern plains.

In New Delhi, US embassy spokesman Gordon Duguid said the exercises reflected a growing military cooperation.

“This is the largest army exercise ever to take place between US and India and it will involve up to 200 special operations forces from the US Pacific Command who will hold exercises with Indian paratroopers over two weeks in joint jumps and small arms fire,” Duguid said.

“The exercises are taking place in the framework of our ongoing military-to-military relationship and it will be the first of a regular series of exercises,” he added.

The last Indo-US exercises were held a year after India fought a brief but bitter border war with China in 1962.

Indian military commanders in Agra, 200 kilometres south from New Delhi, said the airforce-backed exercise would provide a unique opportunity for both sides to learn new procedures.

“Such joint manoeuvres are aimed at developing better understanding of equipment and exchange of experiences, procedures as well as human relations,” a senior commander said.

“With the changing scenario internationally, such exercises have their own importance,” he added.

India has held military manoeuvres with Britain, France and Japan in recent years, besides conducting anti-piracy sea patrols off the Malacca Straits, between Indonesia and Malaysia, with the US navy.

Some 50 US policy-makers have visited India since last July and an equal number of Indians, including Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and members of his national security team, have travelled to Washington.

Indian army chief S. Padmanabhan visited the United States last month shortly after Washington agreed to sell eight Firefinder artillery-locating radars worth 146 million dollars.

The contract was the first US defence deal in more than a decade with India, which historically has looked to Russia for the bulk of its hardware.

Indian defence analysts said the exercise in Agra would help in ending mutual suspicions.

“There is some sort of mindblock on both the militaries because of Cold War alignments but those are now waning because of the global war on terrorism and this exercise can be another contributor to that,” Indian military expert Kapil Kak said.—AFP