The latest diplomatic row between India and Canada is not going to impact the bilateral military engagement and the Canadian Army will take part at a defence conclave in Delhi next week, senior military officials from both the sides said on Wednesday.
The Indian Army is hosting the conclave of Indo-Pacific army chiefs on September 26 and 27 to evolve a common strategy to ensure peace and stability in the region. Fifteen Army chiefs and delegations from 22 countries are attending the event, officials said.
Canada's Deputy Army Chief Major General Peter Scott is scheduled to attend the Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs' Conference (IPACC).
"It doesn't impact us. The Canadian army (vice) chief is coming in here, his delegation is coming here," Major General Abhinaya Rai, the Additional Director General of the Army's Strategic Planning wing, said at a curtain raiser.
"Like when we look at our relationship with some of our neighbours...where we may have had a standoff but we continue to engage them at all levels, be it the military level and at the diplomatic level. And I am referring directly to China here," he said, replying to a question.
"Our diplomatic efforts as well as our military efforts with Canada will continue to be there and as part of the IPACC, they will form an important partner in the journey," he added.
Col Todd Braithwaite, the Defence Attache at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, told PTI on the sidelines of the event that both sides will continue their military cooperation notwithstanding the diplomatic row.
"We will continue our military cooperation. It (the diplomatic row) is not going to impact (the defence relations). Our Deputy Army Chief will visit India to participate in the conference," he said when asked about the escalating diplomatic row between the two countries.
In his remarks, Major General Rai also said that India's military engagement with Canada would not be impacted by the row.
The ties between India and Canada came under further strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
India on Tuesday rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case.
The Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs' Conclave (IPACC) will deliberate on the role of military diplomacy in mitigating various crises, ways to enhance collaboration among the armed forces of the region and boosting interoperability.
Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen M V Suchindra Kumar said the event will provide a unique opportunity to build common perspectives towards a shared vision and that it will help strengthen friendships through the formidable and indelible "soldierly bond".
The IPACC, instituted as a biennial event in 1999, is attended by Army chiefs of countries of the Indo-Pacific region, to discuss issues of mutual interest.
"The current edition of this conclave is very special, as it will witness participation of a full spectrum of military ranks, from Army chiefs to non-commissioned Officers from 22 nationalities, and their spouses," Lt Gen Kumar told reporters.
"Fifteen Army chiefs and delegations from 22 countries will attend this event in Delhi. I take this opportunity to thank the US Army, especially US Army Pacific, who are our co-hosts," he said.
The Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar (IPAMS), held annually, is one of the largest conferences for the land forces in the region which is organised annually by US Army Pacific, along with a co-host country.
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