The naval exercise Malabar is held annually between the troika of India, United States (US), and Japan but this year i.e. the 24th edition of exercise will also see a participation of Australia making it first “quadrilateral” naval exercise excercise. This Quad grouping exercise will take place in India Ocean Region (IOR) viz. Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea in a non-contact format amid COVID-19.The naval exercise will be held on November 3-6 and November 17-20 with an objective of free and open navigation in the Indo-Pacific.
- It should be noted that Australia along with Singapore participated in this exercise in 2007 but was dropped in subsequent editions after serious objections were raised by Beijing, China.
- Now Australia is participating on the invite of India.
Key Points:
–Malabar 2020 will see a participation of major combatants from Quad countries including aircraft carriers and submarines.
–The Malabar exercise started in 1992 between India-US and Japan joined them in 2015.
Recent Related News:
i.The 11th Edition of bi-annual, bilateral Maritime Exercise INDRA NAVY – 20 between Indian Navy and Russian Navy was conducted successfully from September 4 to 5. The Exercise was conducted in Bay of Bengal, close to the Strategic point of Strait of Malacca.
ii.On September 23-24, 2020, Indian Navy conducted a two-day long Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the East Indian Ocean Region (IOR) where Indian side was represented by stealth frigate INS (Indian Naval Ship) Sahyadri and missile corvette INS Karmuk Australian side included HMAS Hobart along with Indian Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), and helicopters from both the nations.
About Indian Navy:
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS)– Admiral Karambir Singh
Integrated Headquarters MoD (Navy)– New Delhi
