MALABAR EXCERCISE - INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
News: Navy chiefs of Quad countries meet in Japan ahead of Malabar multilateral exercise
What's in the news?
● The
Navy chiefs of India, Australia, Japan
and the U.S., the four countries
which comprise the Quadrilateral (Quad) grouping, met in Japan on November
5, 2022 and exchanged views on “further enhancing inter-operability” in future
editions of the Malabar multilateral naval exercise.
● Meanwhile, in another development, a Chinese research vessel, ‘Yuan Wang-6’, entered the Indian Ocean via the Sunda Strait.
Key takeaways:
● The
meeting in Tokyo comes ahead of a
series of multilateral engagements in the next couple of weeks to be hosted by
Japan, including the naval war games.
● This
year also marks 30 years of the Malabar
exercise, which began as a bilateral exercise between India and the U.S. in
1992.
● In
the past, Chinese naval vessels have been observed in the vicinity while the
Malabar exercise was underway.
● Chinese
presence in the Indian Ocean began in 2008 under the garb of anti-piracy
operations in the Gulf of Aden and China has since maintained a continuous
presence in the region, even deploying nuclear attack submarines on occasions.
● China has since set up a military base in Djibouti and developed several dual use ports in the IOR in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Pakistan, among other countries.
Malabar Exercise:
● Malabar,
which began as a bilateral exercise, is now one of the cornerstones of military
interoperability of the Quad forces.
● It
is conducted and participated by the Navies of the four member nations of the
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad such as India, the United States, Japan, and
Australia.
● Malabar
Exercise is aimed at improving the inter-operability
of the navies participating in a drill.
● It also helps in increasing cooperation in disaster relief operations, rescue operations, maritime waters protection, etc.
Backdrop:
● Malabar
is a multilateral war-gaming naval exercise that was started in 1992. It began
as a bilateral exercise between the navies of India and the United States.
● Two
more editions of the exercise were carried out in 1995 and 1996, after which
there was a break until 2002 in the aftermath of India’s nuclear tests.
● From
2002 onward, the exercise has been conducted every year.
● Japan and Australia first participated in 2007, and since 2014, India, the US and Japan have participated in the exercise every year.
Bilateral to Multilateral:
● Japan
joined the naval exercise in 2015 as a permanent member, and Malabar became a
trilateral exercise.
● But last year was an important milestone. For the first time in over a decade, the exercise saw the participation of all four Quad members. It was the second time that Australia participated in the Malabar series of Naval exercises.
Vision:
● Commitment
to peace, stability and prosperity of all countries in this region.
● Upholding
the rules-based international order.
● Respecting
the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international seas.
● Upholding
the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
● Promoting
a shared vision for a free, open and
inclusive Indo-Pacific region.