MALABAR Exercise of QUAD nations

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In news–  Navies of the four member nations of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), India, the United States, Japan, and Australia have participated in the 25th edition of the Malabar Exercise.

Malabar Exercise-2021

• The recent one, 25th edition of the exercise was held off the coast of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
• This year Malabar witnessed complex exercises including anti-surface, anti-air, and anti-submarine warfare drills, and other manoeuvres and tactical exercises.
• From India, INS Shivalik multirole frigate, the INS Kadmatt anti-submarine warfare corvette, and P8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft have participated in the exercise.
• The US Navy was represented by the USS Barry, USNS Rappahannock, the USNS Big Horn, and P8A patrol aircraft.
• The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force was represented by the JS Kaga, JS Murasame, and JS Shiranui destroyers, in addition to a submarine and P1 patrol aircraft.
• The Royal Australian Navy was represented by the HMAS Warramunga.

History of the Malabar Exercise

• Malabar is a multilateral war-gaming naval exercise that was started in 1992. 
• The aim of the exercise is to increase interoperability amongst the participating navies, develop a common understanding and Standard Operating Procedures for maritime security operations and for the navies to operate as a team to meet the challenges in the maritime domain.
• It began as a bilateral exercise between the navies of India and the United States.
• It is now one of the cornerstones of military interoperability of the Quad forces.
• From 2002 onward, the exercise has been conducted every year. 
• Japan and Australia first participated in 2007, and since 2014, India, the US and Japan have participated in the exercise every year.
• In 2007, there were two Malabar Exercises, 
  • The first off Okinawa island of Japan in the western Pacific, which marked the first time that the exercise was held away from Indian shores.
  • A second Malabar Exercise was held in September 2007, off Visakhapatnam, which saw India, Japan, the United States, Australia and Singapore participate.
• After 2007,  the government in Australia changed, and the country stopped participating in the exercise.
• Japan joined the naval exercise in 2015 as a permanent member, and Malabar became a trilateral exercise.
• For the first time in over a decade, the exercise saw the participation of all four Quad members last year.
• It was the second time that Australia participated in the Malabar series of Naval exercises
• Last year, the exercise was conducted in two phases, the first off the coast of Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal, and then in the Arabian Sea in November. 

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