MALABAR
EXERCISE - DEFENCE & SECURITY
News:
Exercise Malabar to be
held off Sydney from August 11-21
What's
in the news?
● The
31st edition of the Malabar multilateral exercise comprising India, Australia,
Japan and USA.
Malabar
Exercise:
● Malabar,
which began as a bilateral exercise, is now one of the cornerstones of military interoperability of the Quad forces.
● It
is conducted and participated by the Navies of the four member nations of the
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad such as India, the United States,
Japan, and Australia.
● Malabar
Exercise is aimed at improving the inter-operability of the navies
participating in a drill.
● It
also helps in increasing cooperation in
disaster relief operations, rescue operations, maritime waters protection,
etc.
Backdrop:
● Malabar
is a multilateral war-gaming naval exercise that was started in 1992. It began
as a bilateral exercise between the navies of India and the United States.
● Two
more editions of the exercise were carried out in 1995 and 1996, after which
there was a break until 2002 in the aftermath of India’s nuclear tests.
● From
2002 onward, the exercise has been conducted every year.
● Japan
and Australia first participated in 2007, and since 2014, India, the US and
Japan have participated in the exercise every year.
Bilateral
to Multilateral:
● Japan
joined the naval exercise in 2015 as a permanent member, and Malabar became a
trilateral exercise.
● But
last year was an important milestone. For the first time in over a decade, the exercise saw the participation of all
four Quad members. It was the second time that Australia participated in
the Malabar series of Naval exercises.
Vision:
● Commitment
to peace, stability and prosperity of all countries in this region
● Upholding
the rules-based international order
● Respecting
the rule of law and freedom of
navigation in the international seas
● Upholding
the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states
● Promoting
a shared vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.