Defence diplomacy goes beyond arms trade. Examine the role of joint military exercises and adventure activities in building strategic partnerships, with reference to India–Argentina ties.

Defence diplomacy means using armed forces in peacetime to build trust between countries. India–Argentina ties show how it works. The two countries signed their first-ever commercial defence agreement only in 2023 [2], yet their Armies have completed three joint mountaineering expeditions since 2025 [1]. Such activities lay foundations that arms deals can later build on.

Role of joint exercises and adventure activities

• Low-cost trust-building: no weapons change hands and no third country feels threatened. Officers form personal links before formal agreements exist.
• Shared high-altitude skills: the 2026 climbs of Mt Abi Gamin (7,355 m) and Mt Kamet (7,756 m) tested endurance, technical skill and coordination in extreme cold, high winds and crevassed terrain [1]. These conditions are similar to India's Himalayan frontiers.
• Reciprocity and continuity: the climbs alternated between the Andes (Aconcagua, Jan 2025) and the Himalaya (Mt Kun, Aug 2025) [2]. They kept contact regular despite long gaps between top-level visits. The 2025 PM visit was the first bilateral one in 57 years [2].
• Skill transfer: an Indian Naval officer completed a 45-day Polar Ice Navigation Course aboard Argentina's ARA Irizar [2]. India cannot easily build this skill at home.
• Gateway to wider ties: the goodwill supports the 2019 Strategic Partnership [2], the Defence Cooperation MoU [4] and the minerals agenda. KABIL leased five lithium blocks in Catamarca in 2024 [2].

Limitations

• Narrow interoperability: climbs test teamwork on ice. They do not test joint tactics, communications or logistics.
• Thin industrial follow-through: defence business so far is limited to HAL's helicopter-spares deal (2023) and a HAL–FAdeA cooperation agreement [2]. There has been no platform sale, even though India targets ₹50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029 [3].
• Economic fragility: trade fell 39% to USD 3.9 billion in 2023 because of drought and a forex shortage in Argentina [2]. Goodwill alone cannot steady the partnership.

Way forward

• Turn one-off climbs into yearly training exchanges under the 2019 MoU [4].
• Use the HAL–FAdeA link to offer helicopter maintenance and support packages.

Joint exercises and adventure activities build the trust and continuity that arms trade alone cannot. For India and Argentina, they have kept contact alive between summits. Linking them to structured training, defence-industrial projects and the lithium partnership would turn goodwill into a lasting strategic partnership, in line with India's export and Atmanirbharta goals.