Malabar Exercise Phase 2 begins in north Arabian Sea |
Originally begun in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States and later joined by Japan as a permanent partner in 2015 and also by the non-permanent participants like Singapore and Australia, the second phase of Malabar exercises was witnessed in the Northern Arabian Sea on Tuesday. The navies of India, the US, Australia, and Japan began the second phase of the Malabar naval exercise involving two aircraft carriers and a number of frontline warships, submarines, and maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The major highlight of the four-day exercise is the participation of the Indian Navy`s Vikramaditya carrier battle group and the Nimitz strike group of the US Navy. The USS Nimitz is the world`s largest warship. The first phase of the Malabar exercise took place in the Bay of Bengal from November 3 to 6 and featured a number of complex drills including anti-submarine and anti-air warfare operations. The Australian Navy has deployed its HMAS Ballarat, an Anzac-class frigate while the Japanese Navy has sent its leading destroyer JS Murasame for the exercise. The mega exercise is significant when India and China are locked in an over six-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh. China has been suspicious about the purpose of the Malabar exercise as it feels that the annual war game is an effort to contain its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The exercise will include cross-deck flying operations and advanced air defense exercises by MIG 29K fighters of Vikramaditya and F-18 fighters and E2C Hawkeye from Nimitz.
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