Japan-Australia to take part in Indo-US Malwar exercise
New Delhi: For the first time, Japan and Australia will take part in the Malwar exercise of the Indo-US Navy. Amid China's violent behavior in Ladakh and tensions along the border, it has become a headache for China and Japan to show interest in joining the Indian-US joint naval exercise. For the first time, the Quad, a four-member joint forum, will conduct exercises in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
A statement from the Indian Ministry of Defense said, "Tensions at the Chinese border have nothing to do with the exercise." The ministry said the move was aimed at strengthening coordination among the country's navies. The Indian-US naval exercise has been going on in Malwar since 1992, with Japan joining in 2015 and now Australia is keen to join.
For the past few years, Australia has been keen to take part in the exercise. Australian Foreign Minister Marij Paine has agreed to take part in the Malabar exercise at the end of this year, saying it is an opportunity for naval coordination for them. Similarly, joining high-military exercises like Malwar will create a good relationship with our friends and develop the Australian Navy’s naval combat capabilities, ”said Australian Defense Minister Linda Renolds.
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