The Indian Army has kicked off a major military combat exercise in the strategically-located state of Arunachal Pradesh, a media report said.

Axar.az reports citing ANI News that the Indian Army’s mountain-trained 17 Corp is participating in the month-long “Him Vijay” Exercise in an area of the northeastern state that is at some distance from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that acts as a de facto border between India and China.

The exercise is aimed at converting the Indian Army’s 17 Corps into “a lean and mean force to carry out swift attacks in a dynamic operational scenario”, the daily quoted Indian defense sources as saying.

This is the first combat exercise to be held near India’s border with China and involves the participation of the Indian Army’s 4 Corps and 17 Corps.