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In a move that underscores Moscow’s role as a convenor of unlikely military partners, Exercise ZAPAD 2025 has put Indian and Pakistani troops on the same training ground for the first time since Operation Sindoor. The drills, running from September 1 to 17 in western Russia, feature forces from 20 countries—including China—making it a striking tableau of geopolitical balancing.
Russia’s Balancing Act
For Russia, staging adversaries in parallel formations serves a dual purpose: reaffirming itself as a pole in global security affairs while leveraging old defence partnerships. By ensuring India, Pakistan and China share the same exercise space—albeit in carefully curated blocs—Moscow demonstrates its ability to convene regional rivals without letting fault lines fracture the event.
India’s Calculus
India has committed a 70-strong military contingent, finalised after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President Vladimir Putin at the SCO Summit in Tianjin. For New Delhi, participation signals continuity in India–Russia defence cooperation, even as it navigates a delicate balance between Western partnerships and legacy ties with Moscow.
The presence of both Pakistan and China in the exercise complicates optics. While Pakistan is grouped with Beijing, India operates separately—reflecting Moscow’s choreography of proximity without forced interaction.
Echoes of Operation Sindoor
The exercise marks the first visible parallel deployment of Indian and Pakistani forces since Operation Sindoor, India’s high-stakes military response to cross-border threats. Their presence in the same arena, even without interaction, is laden with symbolism.
Analysts note that the mere co-location of uniformed personnel from two hostile neighbours offers a rare, if fleeting, glimpse of how adversaries can be drawn into common multilateral frameworks. Whether this signals an experiment in confidence-building or is simply a byproduct of Russia’s convening power remains an open question.
Optics Over Outcomes
Defence experts caution against overstating military significance. The real message lies in optics: India, Pakistan and China all fielding troops on Russian soil at a time when great power rivalries are sharpening elsewhere.
“Russia has managed to pull rivals into the same tent, reminding the world that in multipolarity, Moscow still writes its own script,” observed a South Asia watcher.
Following the ZAPAD exercise, India will host Exercise INDRA, the annual bilateral military drill with Russia, in October. Launched in 2003 and subsequently expanded to encompass all three branches of the armed forces, INDRA now focuses on modern warfare, anti-terror operations, cyber defence, and humanitarian missions. Russian forces will travel to India next month for the latest edition of this exercise, further strengthening the strategic bond between the two nations.
Huma Siddiqui
