“India’s recent decision to include Australia in the upcoming Malabar naval exercise alongside American, Indian, and Japanese forces reflects an acknowledgement of the importance of working multilaterally together to address global challenges,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a joint news conference in New Delhi, India, Oct. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper addresses the media next to U.S. “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.įILE - U.S. The second phase will be held in mid-November in the Arabian Sea. The first phase of the exercises, which includes simulated war games and combat maneuvers, is being held in the Bay of Bengal and will continue until Friday. “But this time the Malabar exercises won’t wind down because the coming decade is going to be very different - the threat perception of Chinese power is much higher now in all these four countries, so it has a lasting future.” “In 2007 the Chinese threatened and cajoled different members to drop out and effectively defanged it,” according to Sreeram Chaulia, Dean at the Jindal School of international Affairs at O.P. But this time the Malabar exercises will endure as all four participants seek a long-term counterbalancing strategy to China according to analysts. India’s decision to include Australia for the annual drills comes in the wake of a push by Washington for deeper security collaboration in the “Quad,” the informal group that includes the United States, Japan, Australia and India as a counter to China.Īustralia returns to the exercises after 13 years, when its participation triggered strident Chinese objections. The Australian navy joined Indian, Japanese and American warships for annual Malabar exercises that began Tuesday in the Indian Ocean marking the growing strategic convergence of the four countries amid rising concerns about Chinese assertiveness in Asia.
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