The Indian Navy is all set to take part in the Second Phase of multilateral maritime exercise ‘Malabar’ along with Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and the United States Navy (USN).
The exercise by the quadrilateral nations will take place in the Bay of Bengal from 12 October to 15 October 2021.
The Second Phase of the Malabar exercise would not only build synergic coordination between the participating nations but also enhance interoperability developed during the First Phase of the exercise. The exercise would focus on advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, seamanship evolutions, and weapon firings.
Household naval ships in action
The Indian Navy’s INS Ranvijay, INS Satpura along with P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft will participate in the quad nations maritime exercise.
This phase of the Malabar exercise will be even bigger than the first conducted off Guam, US in the Western Pacific a few months back with the United States deploying an over 1,00,000-ton Nimitz-class super aircraft carrier. This time, the US will be represented by two destroyers, USS Lake Champlain and USS Stockdale. The US Navy will also deploy Aircraft Carrier USS Carl Vinson.
The Japan Navy will deploy JS Kaga and guided-missile destroyer Murasame along with their integral SH60K helicopters. The Royal Australian Navy will be represented by HMAS Ballarat and HMAS Sirius.
Genisis of Malabar
Commenced as an annual bilateral naval exercise between India and the US in 1992, Malabar comprises a series of exercises, which has seen increasing scope and complexity over the years.
The 25th edition of Malabar is being conducted in two phases while observing all protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is reflective of the commitment of the participating countries to support a free, open, inclusive Indo-Pacific as well as a rules-based international order.
The first phase of the exercise was conducted in the Philippines sea from 26 – 29 August this year.
Between the two phases of the Malabar exercise, India also conducted bilateral naval exercises with both Australia (AUSINDEX in September 2021) and Japan (JIMEX earlier this month) to bolster interoperability between the two Malabar phases.
