Malabar 2020: There will be no contact between military personnel due to COVID-19
New Delhi:
The US embassy in India today tweeted to announce the start of the four-nation “Malabar 2020” naval war games in the Bay of Bengal as its “commitment to stronger defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.”
India, the United States, Japan and Australia today began their largest joint naval exercises in more than a decade, seen as part of efforts to balance China’s military and economic reach in the region.
India’s annual “Malabar” war games with the United States and Japan have been expanded to include Australia this year to cover all members of the Quad, an informal group of the four largest democracies in the Indo-Pacific.
24th #Malabar The naval exercise begins today. #DYK, did the navies & 🇮🇳 held the first exercise of its kind in 1992? This now annual exercise includes Japan, and this year Australia, and reaffirms our countries’ commitment to stronger defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. #PartnersatSeapic.twitter.com/uAo5fbjcMq
– United States Embassy in India (@USAndIndia) November 3, 2020
China has accused the United States, which has been leading the effort to forge a common front among its allies, of “Cold War mentality” and ideological biases.
Five Indian Navy ships, including a submarine, were deployed in the exercise alongside the US Navy’s John S McCain missile destroyer, Australia’s Ballarat frigate and a Japanese destroyer, the Defense Ministry said.
There will be no contact between military personnel from the four nations due to COVID-19 restrictions during the first phase of the drills until Nov. 6, he said.
Later this month, India and the United States will deploy carriers in the drills, a military source said.
“The exercise will showcase the high levels of synergy and coordination among friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order,” the Defense Ministry said in its statement. .
The exercises come at a time when India is in a military stalemate along the Royal Line of Control with China.
Thousands of troops are very close in the western Himalayas.
Australia’s diplomatic relations with China also worsened this year after Canberra spearheaded calls for an international investigation into the coronavirus pandemic and Beijing imposed trade sanctions on Australian beef and barley.
On the other hand, Japan is embroiled in a dispute with China over the ownership of the islands in the East China Sea.
With input from Reuters
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