• The Malabar exercise featuring the navies of India, the US, Australia and Japan began on October 8 in Visakhapatnam with an aim to boost their overall interoperability amid evolving regional security situation.

• This year marks the 28th iteration of the Malabar exercise, which began in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the United States and India. 

• The sea phase of the exercise commenced on October 14 off the coast of Visakhapatnam.

• Naval warships, embarked integral helicopters and long-range maritime patrol aircraft from Australia, India, Japan and the US are now exercising in unison in the Bay of Bengal, demonstrating a high level of collaboration and operational synergy.

• The sea phase will further strengthen interoperability between the participating nations and contribute towards enhancing regional security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

• Indian, Australian, Japanese, and US maritime forces routinely operate together across the Indo-Pacific in support of regional security and stability.

History of Malabar exercise:

• Malabar is an annual maritime exercise that enhances planning, training and employment of advanced warfare tactics between the Indian Navy (IN), US Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and  Royal Australian Navy (RAN) which demonstrates the commitment between like-minded nations to upholding a rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific.  

• The Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian Navy and the US Navy in the Indian Ocean. Japan became a permanent member of the exercise in 2015. 

• Following India’s invitation, Australia participated in the Malabar Exercise in 2020 that effectively made it a drill by all four member nations of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition. Australia participated in subsequent exercises as well.

• The Malabar exercises enhanced synergy, interoperability and coordination between the four country navies.

What is Quad?

• The Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is an informal grouping of four countries — Australia, India, Japan and the United States. 

• It is a diplomatic partnership of four countries committed to promoting stability, resilience and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. 

• Established in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami to coordinate humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the Quad has since become a leading regional partnership dedicated to advancing a common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific through practical cooperation on diverse 21st-century challenges. 

• The foreign ministers of the four countries held their first meeting under the Quad framework in New York in September 2019.

• The first Leaders’ Summit of the Quad was held virtually in March 2021.

• The Quad recognises that international law, peace, and security in the maritime domain underpins the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. 

• The countries are determined to deepen engagement with regional partners, including through capacity-building and technical assistance, to strengthen maritime domain awareness, protect their ability to develop offshore resources, consistent with  the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

• The Quad is exchanging information on ever-evolving threats and working with Indo-Pacific countries, and in multilateral fora, to counter all forms of terrorism and violent extremism.

• Quad partners champion the free, open, and inclusive rules-based order, rooted in international law, that protects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional countries.

• The Quad has been focusing on cooperation in areas such as producing vaccines, connectivity projects, facilitating the mobility of students and looking at promoting startups and technology collaboration.

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