On Thursday, the Indian, US, Japanese, and Australian navies will begin the 25th edition of the Malabar naval drills off the coast of the Pacific island of Guam. Malabar 21, the most recent edition, will take place from August 26 to 29. Since 2020, all four members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, have taken part in the exercise.
“The aim of the exercise is to increase interoperability amongst the participating navies, develop common understanding and SOPs for Maritime Security Operations”, the Indian Navy said in a statement on Wednesday. Two Indian warships, INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt, a P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and the navy’s marine commandos (MARCOS) will be taking part in this year’s Malabar drill.
Exercises involving destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, helicopters, long-range maritime patrol aircraft, and elite special forces elements such as the US Navy SEALs and MARCOS will be held by the navies of the four quad nations. On August 25, the Indian Navy issued a press statement.
“A wide range of surface, sub-surface and air operations will be carried out by the participating navies during the exercise. Special operations teams — US Navy SEALs, Indian MARCOS and Special Boarding Units of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) — will carry out visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) training and simulated hostage rescue operations.”
According to a source familiar with the situation, India is planning to conduct its first tri-service exercise with the United Kingdom in the Arabian Sea by the end of October. India and France are also planning a new format of military exercises involving their armies, navies, and air forces to strengthen their defence cooperation.
