16 warships, 2 submarines, 95 aircraft. India-US-Japan tri-lateral maritime exercise in the Bay of Bengal sends a strong message to China.
Malabar series began in 1992 as a naval exercise between India and United States.basically was pertaining to diverse activities and maritime operations. Three such studies were conducted before it was suspended owing to India’s entry into the nuclear league. Following 9/11, Malabar series again resumed with the pretext of the war on terrorism and the changed geo political equations.
Nevertheless, efforts have also being made to bring Australia in to the fold which definitely has raised a lot of geopolitical eyebrows. The expedition comprised of aircraft carriers, submarines and maritime patrolling air craft in wide range of combat missions and mimicking sea war fares.
This year the Malabar exercise is going to begin in the Bay of Bengal on July 10 and is supposed to be the largest of them all.Although the participants have denied this exercise has anything to do with the Chinese, there is so much to worry for the Asian giant. Firstly, it's the nature of operations underlying the oceanic event.
The exercises at sea this year would be propelled on Aircraft Carrier operations, Air Defence, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Surface Warfare, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), Search and Rescue, Joint Manoeuvres and Tactical procedures. Looking at the operational landscape of the exercises, its clear for what they are designed.
According to a Chinese online portal ‘Pengpai’, the presence of the U.S. built P-8 planes and the proposed induction of MQ-9B drones in the Indian arsenal is indicated to chip in for Malabar. This inclusion according to it was evidence of a converging military partnership between them.
“The P-8 is considered the most advanced in the world. India has bought eight of them and in the future, it will buy another eight. It will fully replace the old Soviet era ASW aircraft such as the IL-38 and TU-142,” observes the online portal.
Secondly, the exercises will include India’s aircraft carrier, Japan’s largest warship Izumo and a Nimtz series nuclear propelled American warship. In addition, 16 ships, 95 aircraft comprising a fleet of fighter jets, and two submarines will take part in the war games.
This show of strength is a warning to aggressive misadventures of the Chinese in the South China Sea. It also will create a trilateral ‘Strategic big brother’ protecting countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Philippines in the region from Chinese aggression.
The exercises involving naval ships, aircraft and personnel from the three countries will feature in both ashore and at-sea training off India's eastern coast in the Bay of Bengal, a statement from US embassy said.
Training will focus on high-end war-fighting skill sets, combined carrier strike group operations, surface and anti-submarine warfare, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), helicopter operations, and visit board search and seizure (VBSS) operations, it said.
The exercise would also include medical operations, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations, damage control exercises and subject matter expert and professional exchanges. Malabar 2017 is the latest in a continuing series of exercises that has grown in scope and complexity over the years, the US embassy said.
The joint exercises may have assumed a bilateral venture. However over the years, the entry of Japan in this collaboration in 2015 has certainly given it a strategic outlook. Although United States has denied it, the overall scenario seemed like a ‘Chinese containment policy’. All the three powers have denied and the exercises have been touted as a tripartite co operation between the navies of the three countries in lieu with maritime operations.
Nevertheless, efforts have also being made to bring Australia in to the fold which definitely has raised a lot of geopolitical eyebrows. The expedition comprised of aircraft carriers, submarines and maritime patrolling air craft in wide range of combat missions and mimicking sea war fares.
This year the Malabar exercise is going to begin in the Bay of Bengal on July 10 and is supposed to be the largest of them all.Although the participants have denied this exercise has anything to do with the Chinese, there is so much to worry for the Asian giant. Firstly, it's the nature of operations underlying the oceanic event.
The exercises at sea this year would be propelled on Aircraft Carrier operations, Air Defence, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Surface Warfare, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), Search and Rescue, Joint Manoeuvres and Tactical procedures. Looking at the operational landscape of the exercises, its clear for what they are designed.
According to a Chinese online portal ‘Pengpai’, the presence of the U.S. built P-8 planes and the proposed induction of MQ-9B drones in the Indian arsenal is indicated to chip in for Malabar. This inclusion according to it was evidence of a converging military partnership between them.
“The P-8 is considered the most advanced in the world. India has bought eight of them and in the future, it will buy another eight. It will fully replace the old Soviet era ASW aircraft such as the IL-38 and TU-142,” observes the online portal.
Secondly, the exercises will include India’s aircraft carrier, Japan’s largest warship Izumo and a Nimtz series nuclear propelled American warship. In addition, 16 ships, 95 aircraft comprising a fleet of fighter jets, and two submarines will take part in the war games.
This show of strength is a warning to aggressive misadventures of the Chinese in the South China Sea. It also will create a trilateral ‘Strategic big brother’ protecting countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Philippines in the region from Chinese aggression.