Exercise Malabar To Be Held Off Sydney From August 11-21

Relevance: GS 2 - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

(Source: The Hindu, 08/08/23)

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Why in the news?

The 31st Malabar exercise, involving India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S.It will be hosted by Australia for the first time. It will be held in Sydney from August 11-21. Australia has also invited India for the Sea Power conference that it is hosting from November 7-9. Exercise Malabar will be followed by AUSINDEX, the India-Australia bilateral naval exercise.

Significance of the exercise

• Interoperability: The exercise aims to deepen the interoperability between the key partners who are also members of the Quad or the Quadrilateral security dialogue.
• Indo-pacific partnership: The exercise is also designed to deepen the partnership for the Indo-Pacific, for shared aspiration, for a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific.
• Strengthening strategic partnership: Malabar exercise enhances naval collaboration among four nations, strengthening strategic partnerships through complex maritime security operations.

About Malabar Exercise

• The Malabar naval exercise began in 1992 as a bilateral activity between India and the United States.
• It was temporarily suspended after 1996 due to India's nuclear tests, but resumed in 2002 and has since taken place annually.
• Japan and Australia joined in 2007, and from 2014 onwards, India, the US, and Japan participated consistently.
• Japan joined the naval exercise in 2015 as a permanent member, and Malabar became a trilateral exercise.
• Australia was included as a permanent member of Ex. Malabar in 2020 amid the stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh.

India-Australia defense cooperation

• During PM Modi's November 2014 visit to Australia, defense collaboration between the two nations was significantly enhanced.
• They expanded defense cooperation to include research, development, and industry engagement.
• Regular meetings at the Defense Minister level, maritime exercises, and service-to-service talks were also agreed upon, bolstering bilateral defense ties.

Military Exercises

• AUSINDEX: The fourth edition of AUSINDEX was held between September 7 and 10, 2021 in Australia at Off Darwin.
• Exercise Talisman Sabre: India participated as an Observer in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021 in July 2021.
• AustraHind: The inaugural AUSTRAHIND 2022, a joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Australian Army, took place in Rajasthan from November 28 to December 11, 2022.

Regular training and Exchange Programs

• Annually, Australia sends officers to participate in premier military educational institutions in India. In reciprocation, India also sends four officers each year to study in Australia
• General Rawat India - Australia Young Defence Officer Exchange Program: It was launched in 2023 and offers the opportunity each year for fifteen young officers from across Army, Navy, and Air Force, to learn more about each other’s training, operational environments and culture.

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FAQs

MCQ

Question: Malabar Exercise is a multilateral Naval exercise between which of the following countries?

1. Australia
2. India
3. Japan
4. United Kingdom

Choose the correct code from the options given below:

(a)1 and 2 only

(b) 1,2 and 3 only

(c) 1,3 and 4 only

(d) 1,2,3 and 4