JOINT EXERCISES – Quad Navies Hold 24th Malabar Exercise

After a gap of 13 years, India, US, Australia and Japan conducted their first joint naval drill, called Malabar exercise, from 3 November. It was the 24th edition of the exercise. The drill was unique as it was the first time that the four countries participated as a bloc called the ‘Quadrilateral’ or the ‘Quad’. It marked an informal strategic alliance to counter rising Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean.

The first phase in the Bay of Bengal, from 3 to 6 November, involved conducting multiple complex drills including surface, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare operations, cross-deck flying, seamanship evolutions and weapon-firing. The second phase commenced from November 17 on the western front in the Arabian Sea.

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Destroyer INS Ranvijay, frigate INS Shivalik, off-shore patrol vessel INS Sukanya, fleet support ship INS Shakti, submarine INS Sindhuraj, advanced jet trainer hawk, long-range maritime patrol aircraft P-8I and Dornier maritime patrol aircraft participated from the Indian Navy. Indigenously built submarine Khanderi and P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft of the Indian Navy will also showcase their capabilities during the exercise.

US Navy’s Strike Carrier Nimitz was accompanied by cruiser Princeton and destroyer Sterett in addition to P8A maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The Royal Australian Navy was represented by frigate Ballarat along with its integral helicopter. JMSDF ships also participated.

Phase 1

Phase-1 of MALABAR 2020 witnessed participation of Indian Navy units with United States Ship (USS) John S McCain, Her Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) Ballarat with integral MH-60 helicopter, and Japan Maritime Self Defence Ship (JMSDF) Onami, with integral SH-60 helicopter. Indian Navy’s participation in this phase was led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and included destroyer Ranvijay, indigenous frigate Shivalik, Offshore Patrol Vessel Sukanya, Fleet Support Ship Shakti, submarine Sindhuraj, P8I and Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Advanced Jet Trainer Hawk.

Phase 2

During Phase 2 of Exercise, the four navies participated in joint operations centred on the Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group of the Indian Navy and Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of the US Navy.

The two aircraft carriers, along with other ships, submarines and aircraft of the participating navies, engaged in high-intensity naval operations including cross-deck flying operations and advanced air defence exercises by MIG 29K fighters of Vikramaditya and F/A-18 fighters and E2C Hawkeye from Nimitz. US Navy’s Strike Carrier Nimitz was accompanied by cruiser Princeton and destroyer Sterett in addition to P8A maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

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The Royal Australian Navy and JMSDF were represented by frigate Ballarat and destroyer Murasame respectively, along with their integral helicopters. Indian Navy’s participation in Phase 2 was led by Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet and included aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, indigenous destroyers Kolkata and Chennai, stealth frigate Talwar, Fleet Support Ship Deepak and the integral helicopters of these warships, indigenously built submarine Khanderi and P8I and IL-38 maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

Eastern Fleet’s a destroyer, Frigate, Fleet Support Ship, Offshore Patrol Vessel each along with a submarine and aviation elements like P8i, helicopters and AJT Hawks participated during the Phase I, under the command of Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, the Eastern Fleet Commander. The Phase II saw, in addition, ‘Dual Carrier’ operations, advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, seamanship evolutions and weapon firings were also undertaken during both phases of Malabar 2020, demonstrating the synergy, coordination and interoperability between the four friendly navies.

The exercise took place in a congested environment with at least 70 foreign warships patrolling the area between the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s warships were not in the vicinity but were not too far off either – ostensibly conducting anti-pirate operations off the Gulf of Aden.

Chinese Protests

China had protested when these countries exercised together last time and termed it as an “anti-China” grouping. For long, the US had wanted India by its side as a counterweight to China. New Delhi balanced its ties among global heavyweights like Russia and more recently China. But the current border dispute between Indian and China has pushed New Delhi to make ‘Quad’ more meaningful.

A Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece The Global Times termed the Malabar naval drill as “an ill-intentioned attempt to corner China”. It said: “Such an ill-intentioned attempt to corner China is a hollow bluff, and China will not be disrupted by India’s irrationality or US interference.”

Comments

The 24th edition of Malabar highlights enhanced convergence of views amongst the four democracies on maritime issues, and showcased their commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order.

The drill had substantive geopolitical implications not only in the current China-India face-off, but also in the larger Indo-Pacific context where China is flexing its muscle.

With the Indian Navy expected to commission indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant along with its second nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine, INS Arighat, by next year, India will be able to project power from Malacca Straits to Gulf of Aden and beyond.

With the US, India, Australia and Japan communicating through deployed assets, liaison officers in each other’s naval commands and Indian Ocean Monitoring Centres, the Quad is definitely a force to reckon with in Indo-Pacific with situational awareness of both West Asia and Africa.

In a clear message for China to realise the strategic autonomy that India practices, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, on 20 November, that New Delhi’s decisions are solely aimed at protecting its interests.

Other global powers such as France and Germany have also talked about their interest in the Indo-Pacific region to keep it free for open navigation.