1st phase of Malabar exercise from Tuesday in the Bay of Bengal

The first phase of the Malabar exercise among the navies of India, the US, Japan and Australia will kick start off Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday.

Last month, India announced that Australia will be part of the Malabar exercise which effectively made it a drill by all four member nations of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition which is primarily focusing on containing China’s military expansionism in the Indo-Pacific region.

The first segment of the exercise will be from Nov 3 to 6 while the second phase of the drill is scheduled to be held from November 17 to 20 in the Arabian sea.

“The exercise, being conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of COVID-19 pandemic, will showcase the high-levels of synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order,” the Indian Navy said in a statement on Monday.

The invitation by India to the Australian Navy for the exercise came two weeks after foreign ministers of the ‘Quad’ member nations held extensive talks in Tokyo with a focus on enhancing their cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a region where China has been expanding its military influence.

The Indian Navy said the first phase of the exercise would witness complex and advanced naval exercises including surface, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare operations, besides cross deck flying, seamanship evolutions and weapon firing drills.

The Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian Navy and the US Navy in the Indian Ocean. Japan became a permanent member of the exercise in 2015.

The annual exercise was conducted off the coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea in 2018 and off the coast of Japan in 2019.

The Indian Navy will deploy a number of key platforms in the exercise which will include destroyer Ranvijay, frigate Shivalik, off-shore patrol vessel Sukanya, fleet support ship Shakti and submarine Sindhuraj.

Also, advanced jet trainer Hawk, long-range maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, and several helicopters will be participating in the exercise, officials said.

US Navy ship USS John S McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, Australian Navy’s long-range frigate HMAS Ballarat with integral MH-60 helicopter and Japan Maritime Self Defence Force’s JS Onami, a destroyer, will be among key platforms to be part of the first phase of the Malabar exercise, they said.