Indian submarine at Malabar 2020. (JMSDF/Twitter)The first phase of the Indian Navy’s Malabar Exercise with the navies of the United States, Japan and Australia is currently ongoing in the Indian Ocean.
The development, which has brought the members of the Quad together for a naval exercise for the first time in over a decade, has come at a time when tensions between India and China have been on the rise as a result of Brijing’s aggressive behavior along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
China’s relations with the US, Japan and Australia have also deteriorated significantly over the last few months due to its across in the South China Sea and its efforts to block an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
While the first phase of the exercise is underway in the Bay of Bengal, the second phase will take place in the Arabian Sea later this month.
Apart from surface vessels, Indian Navy’s Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhuraj is also participating in the exercise with warships from the US, Japan and Australia. The submarine was seen in a video released earlier today.
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