Two Indian Navy warships reached Guam on Sunday to participate in the Malabar Naval Exercise, in which all four member nations of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or the Quad — India, Australia, Japan and the US — have been participating since 2020.
The exercise is scheduled to begin on August 26.
The Navy said in a statement that INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt reached Guam, a US territory, “as part of their on-going deployment to nations in South East Asia and the Pacific Ocean”.
“The two ships are scheduled to participate in the annual Exercise MALABAR-21, between navies of Australia, India, Japan and the USA. MALABAR series of maritime exercises commenced in 1992 as a bilateral IN-USN exercise and has grown in stature over the years to include four prominent navies in the Pacific and Indian Ocean Region,” the statement said.
The Navy said Vice Admiral A B Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, “will have operational discussions with Rear Admiral Leonard C ‘Butch’ Dollaga, Commander CTF-74 focusing on developing an action plan and coordinated operations in the maritime domain”.
As per the statement, “MALABAR-21 would witness high-tempo exercises conducted between Destroyers, Frigates, Corvettes, Submarines, Helicopters and Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the participating navies. Complex surface, sub-surface and air operations including Live Weapon Firing Drills, Anti-Surface, Anti-Air and Anti-Submarine Warfare Drills, Joint Manoeuvres and Tactical exercises will be conducted during the exercise”.