Troops from India and China will be participating in the ‘Khaan Quest’ multinational military drills scheduled to take place in Mongolia from June 19 to 3 July, as per official statements.
The Indian Army said in a statement on Friday that the multinational drills were aimed at “developing interoperability” between the nations participating in the UN peacekeeping operations.
One of the biggest contributors of troops to the UN peacekeeping missions globally, nearly 275,000 Indian soldiers have been part of these missions till date.
At present, nearly 5,900 Indian troops are deployed in 12 UN missions, the Indian Defense Ministry said last month.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaogang, the spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, said on Friday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would send troops to participate in the multinational drills in Mongolia in mid-June.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Beijing has dispatched over 50,000 peacekeepers to over 30 UN missions since 1990.
It's worth noting that Beijing is the second-biggest funder of UN peacekeeping operations.
A majority of Indian and Chinese peacekeepers are deployed in missions in Africa.
‘Khaan Quest’ Military Drills
The Mongolian Armed Forces and the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) have been jointly organizing the ‘Khaan Quest’ drills since 2003. In 2006, the event was organized as joint multi-nation drills.
Chinese troops participated in the Khaan Quest drills for the first time in 2015.
Last June, a total of 17 countries, including India, China, and the US, participated in the two-week-long exercise, which involved field training exercises, combat discussions, lectures, and demonstrations.