India-Canada row will not impact Canada's presence in Army Chief's Meet
Canada's participation at the Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference (IPACC) in the capital next week, said a senior Indian Army officer.
The deputy chief of the Canadian Army will participate in the conference of top military leaders from 30 nations in the region, Major General Abhinaya Rai, additional director general, strategic planning, said on Wednesday, describing China as an «important partner» of the IPACC initiative.
«It (the diplomatic row) doesn't impact us. The Canadian chief is coming here.
His delegation is coming here,» he said, adding that India similarly engages with its neighbours even though differences exist.
«Even when we look at the relationships with some of our neighbours, where we may have had a standoff, we continue to engage them at all levels, be it military level and at the diplomatic level,» Rai said, in a reference to China.
Canada's defence attache to India, Colonel Todd Braithwaite, echoed the views, expressing hope that the diplomatic row would not impact bilateral military ties.
India and Canada do not have particularly deep military ties, given a lack of commonality of equipment, operating environments or common security interests. The US remains India's top training partner, while weapons are procured from diverse partners such as France, Israel, US and Russia.
The 13th edition of IPACC is being jointly hosted by the Indian and US armies and is being conducted in India for the first time.
«This gathering is the largest conference for land forces (army, marines, etc.) in the region. The objective for these meetings is to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region through mutual understanding, dialogue, and friendship,» said a US Embassy statement.
