The Malabar exercise aims at interoperability with emphasis on humanitarian assistance, surface war manoeuvres, anti-submarines warfare, counter-terror operations and aerial surveillance. Classically, it is enhancing capabilities of operating jointly in an adverse scenario if the situation so demands.

The invitation by India went out to the Australian Navy two weeks after the foreign ministers of the Quad countries held extensive talks in Tokyo, on 6 October, with a focus on enhancing their cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has witnessed increasing Chinese military assertiveness.

ALSO READ: JOINT EXERCISES – Quad Navies Hold 24th Malabar Exercise

In the Quad meeting, foreign affairs minister S Jaishankar stated, “We remain committed to upholding the rules-based international order, underpinned by the rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in the international seas, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty and peaceful resolution of disputes.” Jaishankar also emphasized that Quad was aiming for ‘maintaining a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.’

In her reaction, Australian defence minister Linda Reynolds termed the participation of her country in the exercise a “milestone opportunity” and said it would showcase the “deep trust” between four major Indo-Pacific democracies and their shared will to work together on common security interests.

“High-end military exercises like Malabar are key to enhancing Australia’s maritime capabilities, building interoperability with our close partners, and demonstrating our collective resolve to support an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Reynolds said.

Growing Ties

Defence and security ties between India and Australia have been on an upswing in the last few years. In June, India and Australia elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support during an online summit between prime minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. India has already inked mutual logistics support deal with the other two Quad members.

The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows militaries of the two countries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation.

In September, the navies of India and Australia carried out a two-day mega exercise in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) that featured a range of complex naval manoeuvres, anti-aircraft drills and helicopter operations.

The last time Australian naval ships joined Malabar was back in 2007, when it was a five-nation exercise involving India, US, Japan, Singapore and Australia. Until 2007, Malabar was an annual bilateral exercise with the US Navy that was launched in 1992.

Military Strategy

The military strengthening of the Quad raises the possibility of India countering a China offensive in the Himalayas by exercising its option of opening the maritime front. Opening the third front is not impossible since India’s geographic advantages in the Indian Ocean provides the potential to project a potent maritime threat. It involves a measure of risk and the call would have to be taken by the political leadership. Indian military strategy based on defending the land borders and launching an offensive in the maritime domain is only possible with the support of Quad nations acting in concert.

Australia-China Equation

China continues to be Australia’s largest trading partner and accounts for 32.6 per cent of its exports. Besides, China sources iron ore, coal and gas from Australia because of its geographical proximity. India was sceptical about Australia doing anything to jeopardise this mutually beneficial relationship and risk China hitting back.

India’s announcement of Australia’s participation in the Malabar exercise was, thus, significant geo-politically because four of the biggest democracies with stakes in the region are collectively committed to preserving open waters and hold off China’s misadventures to monopolise them ruthlessly.

ALSO READ: Editorial: Towards a Comprehensive Indo-US Strategic Partnership

When virus-hit Australia spearheaded a petition for a neutral, global investigation into Covid-19’s origins and China’s role in it, it was immediately hit by China, which imposed an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley and ban on beef imports. Ever since, Australia had been looking to find allies where it could diversify markets and find support. One of the results was the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, agreed upon by prime minister Scott Morrison and prime minister Narendra Modi on 4 June 2020.

Quad Plus

The current Quad plus which includes South Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam, though aimed at China, is more than just a consultative or possibly future military grouping or alliance. It also has an economic component which could benefit India, as all countries within the group seek decoupling from China.

The broad objectives of its participants are political equilibrium and a sustainable security architecture.

Comments

The move to invite Australia to participate in the Malabar 2020 naval exercises marked an important inflexion point not only in India’s bilateral relations with Australia but also in the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific.  The naval exercise imparted a military dimension to the Quad.

The main reason behind Delhi’s hesitation so far was the concern that including Australia into the Quad might offend China’s political sensitivity. Clearly, India’s calculus on China has changed as China’s undermined India’s territorial integrity and regional and multilateral interests. The aggression in Ladakh was possibly the last straw.

Administratively, rather than geopolitically, having separate exercises with each of the partners was not logical. It was more sensible to combine them into one. But the multilateral exercise in the Bay of Bengal produced vehement protests from China, which dubbed it as an “Asian NATO”.

Rather than bringing the Quad partners into India’s territorial battles against Beijing, the strengthening of the Quad is more about expanding India’s bilateral security ties with Australia, whose potential is immense.

India would not desire to be sucked into operations in the South China Sea unless they are of specific concern to India. India would also be careful not to allow its diplomatic ties with Russia, Iran and other nations, where the US has differing perceptions, to deteriorate by joining a US-led alliance.

The full-fledged military alliance gives an emboldened Quad the robustness to act together against Chinese assertiveness and debt-trap diplomacy. So far, only the US had directly dared to call out China. Over time, if mutual interests and concerns converge, the Quad could become what the US calls a NATO-like presence in Asia that could contain China’s expansionist designs. It could lead to the establishment of an economic coalition of sorts, with a Quad Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to reduce the dependence on China.

The Quad consolidation can make it difficult for Beijing to monitor the entire South China Sea, which it claims as its own.

The international order is evolving quickly, mainly due to a consensus amongst every major liberal democracy in the world, that China is a threat – to political systems and open societies, economic self-reliance, and a rules-based regime, particularly in the international seas. Chinese aggression against India makes it incumbent on New Delhi to explore and deepen every international alliance which can serve as a source of symbolic and substantive support, including in the maritime domain where China has obvious vulnerabilities.

One view is that cementing the Quad will alienate China further and make reconciliation difficult. India has realised that China tends to respect power and strength. Economic strength and partnerships such as the Quad can broaden India’s options with China.

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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.

ALSO READ: INDIA – U.S.: Indo-US Defence Cooperation Enters New Phase

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.

ALSO READ: India, United States and Japan: Strategic Convergence in the Indian Ocean

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.

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While Singh was in Moscow in June to participate in the 75th Victory Day celebrations, his September 3-5 visit will focus on SCO meet, besides bilateral consultations with the hosts amid fresh tensions along the LAC. Singh and his Russian counterpart are expected to discuss steps to widen defence partnership including supplies at critical times.

ALSO READ INDIA-RUSSIA: Military Ties Remain Strong

Russian Navy ships Admiral Vinogradov (Destroyer), Admiral Tributs (Destroyer) and Boris Butoma (Tanker) with integral helicopters will be visiting the port of Hambantota (Sri Lanka) from August 31 to September 3, before proceeding to Russia, persons familiar with this development informed.

Indra Navy 2020

INDRA NAVY-2020, earlier planned in Vladivostok has been postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic situation. Russian Navy has instead proposed conducting a “non-contact, at sea only” Passage Exercise (PASSEX) to maintain the continuity of engagements between the two Navies, ET has reliably learnt.

INDRA NAVY-2020 is planned as PASSEX on September 4-5, during the passage of Russian Navy ships from Hambantota to Malacca Straits in the Bay of Bengal. Indian Navy will deploy ships Ranvijay (Destroyer), Sahyadri (Frigate), Kiltan (Corvette) and Shakti (Tanker) with integrated Helicopters. As part of INDRA NAVY-2020, maritime operations such as Flying, Gun Firing on Surface and Aerial Targets, Tracking Exercises and Replenishment at Sea Approaches (RASAPS) are planned, ET has learnt.

India-Russia (INDRA) Exercises between the Army, Navy and Air Force of the two countries have been held since 2005. Joint Tri-Services Exercises ‘INDRA’ are also being held once in two years since 2017. The last INDRA Tri-Services Exercise was held in India in December 2019.

ALSO READ India holds naval exercise with Japan amid stand-off with China

“INDRA NAVY-2020 will once again showcase the level of friendship, trust and interoperability between Indian Navy and the Russian Navy,” a source said.

India is keen to develop a partnership with Russia in the Indo-Pacific region based on its principle of inclusive Indo-Pacific construct. Russia on its part wants to steadily enhance its presence in the region spanning Lisbon to Jakarta and seeks Indian presence in its Far-East as Indo-Pacific partnership.

Interestingly, Indo-Russian exercise could happen almost in the same area where the Malabar exercise involving India, the United States of America and Japan and will take place later this year. Australia too could be invited for the exercise.

Source

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