HMAS Ballarat is joining Indian Navy Ships Shakti, Ranvijay, Sukanya, Shivalik; Indian submarine Sindhuraj; Indian Navy aircraft; United States Ship John S. McCain and Japanese Ship Ōnami.
Highlights:
- HMAS Ballarat is joining Indian Navy for the Malabar exercise.
- India has invited the Australian Defence Force for this prestigious exercise along with the US and Japan.
- Malabar started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy exercise.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says Exercise Malabar is an important opportunity to work in concert with like-minded nations to support a secure, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
"Participation in sophisticated exercises like MALABAR not only highlights the strategic trust between the members but also strengthens our collective ability to contribute to regional security.
"India and Australia are natural partners in the Indo-Pacific, and Exercise MALABAR is a clear demonstration of the depth of trust and cooperation between our defence organisations," said Minister Reynolds in a statement.
India has invited the Australian Defence Force for this prestigious exercise after over a decade. Australia last took part the exercise in 2007.
This is the first time all four members of the Quad group are coming together in Malabar, which is seen as a symbolic move against Chinese assertion in the region, according to analysts.
Malabar started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy exercise.
Experts believe China having strained relations with both India and Australia has pushed India to expand the scale of Malabar 2020.
Senior Research Fellow at National Security College Canberra, Dr David Brewster, says the Indo-China clash in Ladakh earlier this year has had an impact.
"Australia has not participated in this exercise (since 2007), and I think there have been a few changes in recent times that had caused India to ensure Australia's participation, most particularly the events in the Himalayas this year when the border clash between India and China," Dr Brewster told SBS Hindi.
Listen to the full analysis here:
During the exercise, the participating naval forces will conduct high-end training including air defence and anti-submarine exercises, aviation, communications and at-sea replenishment between ships.
The exercise is being conducted in the Bay of Bengal and the north of the Arabian Sea.
