Malabar Defence Exercise

In News

• The Quad countries are going to conduct Malabar naval exercises off the coast of Guam in the face of China’s growing military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific.

About 

• It is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.
  • It began as a bilateral naval exercise between India and the USA in 1992 and was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.
• Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore. 
• In 2020, the exercise was hosted in two phases in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
• Features:
  • It involves complex maritime operations in the surface, sub-surface and air domains. 
  • It also focuses on maritime interdiction operations (MIO), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-air and anti-surface firings.
  • It also includes visit board search and seizure (VBSS) and tactical scenario-based exercise at sea.
  • The Malabar-21 would witness high-tempo exercises among destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, helicopters and long-range maritime patrol aircraft of the participating navies.

Significance 

• India, the U.S., Australia, Japan and many other like-minded countries are working towards ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
• The exercise will provide an opportunity for common minded navies to enhance interoperability, gain from best practices and develop a common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.

Other Military Exercises of India 

• JIMEX : India-Japan
• Ex-Desert Knight 21 exercise:  It is a bilateral air exercise to be held between Indian Air Force and the French air and Space Force.
• Indra Dhanush: It is a joint air force exercise between the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom
• Exercise Pitch Black: India and Australia.
  • The main aim of the exercise is to practice Defensive Counter Air combat and Offensive Counter Air Combat
• AUSINDEX: Bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Australian Navy.
  • Both countries hold bilateral army exercises named  AUSTRAHIND.
• Dharma Guardian: The joint military exercise named “Dharma Guardian” between India and Japan.
  • The exercise is aimed at developing mutual understanding and respect between militaries of both countries, as also facilitate in tracking worldwide phenomenon of terrorism
• Aviaindra: India and Russia joint air exercise.
• Nomadic Elephant: India and  Mongolia joint exercise

Source: TH