Quad group of countries take part in back-to-back naval war games

Context: The Quad
group of countries — India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S. — have held
back-to-back naval war games, deepening interoperability and honing, in
particular, their anti-submarine warfare skills. “Exercise Malabar” by the four
countries concluded on Friday off the coast of Visakhapatnam. Earlier, they
were part of the multilateral “Exercise Kakadu” hosted by the Royal Australian
Navy from September 9 to 20. “Exercise Malabar”, which began in 1992 as a
bilateral naval drill between India and the U.S., has evolved into a key
multilateral event aimed at “enhancing interoperability, fostering mutual
understanding, and addressing shared maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean
and Indo-Pacific region.

Key
points

·       Overview: Anti-submarine
warfare and undersea domain awareness have emerged as major focus areas among
the Quad partners as all of them have concerns over the rapid expansion of the
Chinese Navy and its increasing forays into the Indian Ocean Region.

·       Exercise Malabar: Recently,
the naval fleet exercise Malabar-2024 was flagged off at the Eastern Naval
Command (ENC), Visakhapatnam.

Background- It was started in 1992 as a
bilateral naval exercise between India and US navy. The first Malabar Exercise
in the Bay of Bengal took place in 2007. It was expanded into a trilateral
format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015. In 2020, the Australian Navy joined
the Malabar Exercise, making it a quadrilateral naval exercise.

Exercising zone- It takes place annually in
the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans alternatively.

Objective- The
exercise aims to strengthen cooperation and security in the Indo-Pacific
region.

Significance- Malabar 2024 will focus on a broad
range of activities designed to enhance cooperation and operational
capabilities, including discussions on special operations, surface, air, and
anti-submarine warfare through a Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE). Complex
maritime operations such as anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, and air
defence exercises will be conducted at sea, with an emphasis on improving
situational awareness in the maritime domain.

Features- The exercise will feature
participation of various Indian naval platforms, including guided missile
destroyers, multi-purpose frigates, submarines, fighter aircraft and
helicopters.

·       Exercise Kakadu: INS
Satpura and P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft have arrived in Darwin in Australia to
participate in a multinational naval exercise, Kakadu, being hosted by the
Royal Australian Navy.

Background-
Exercise Kakadu is a joint-enabled, biennial exercise hosted by the Royal
Australian Navy and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force. Kakadu is the
Navy’s premier maritime exercise, developing interoperability between nations
in the maritime and air domains, and providing training opportunities for
maritime security and surveillance. It started in 1993.

Kakadu
2022- It's a two-week-long exercise, both in harbour and sea, involving ships
and maritime aircraft from 14 navies. Participation of around 19 vessels, 34
aircraft and more than 3000 personnel from 25 countries are expected.  Themes were partnership, leadership, friendship.
Significance- Navy’s most significant international engagement activity,
Exercise Kakadu is vital for building relationships between participating
countries. The exercise provides an opportunity for regional partners to
undertake multinational maritime activities ranging from constabulary
operations to high-end maritime warfare in a combined environment.

·       Way forward: Exercise
Kakadu brought together nearly 3,000 personnel from 30 nations, ships from 10
countries, and aircraft from five nations, all converging in the north
Australian exercise area, underscoring Canberra’s commitment to “regional
maritime security and international partnerships”. Units participated in
complex and advanced exercises in the domains of surface, sub-surface, and air
warfare.