NEW DELHI: The top-notch Malabar naval exercise, which is the most visible manifestation of the expanding military interoperability among the Quad countries in the crucial Indo-Pacific region, will be conducted off Australia for the first time this August.
India will be dispatching frontline warships as well as P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft for the forthcoming 27th edition of the Malabar exercise, which began as a bilateral endeavour between India and US in the 1990s and then formally included Japan as a regular participant in 2015 and finally Australia in 2020 to complete the Quad.

Australia has also invited India to participate in its largest biennial ‘Talisman Sabre’ tri-service exercise with the US and a few other nations that will be conducted from July 21 to August 4.
All the four Quad countries have openly declared their intent to deter any “coercion” in the Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s aggressive and expansionist behaviour in the entire region.
“It is natural progression that the Malabar, which was so far conducted either off India or Japan, now heads to Australia. After the Malabar was held off Yokosuka near the East China Sea last year, Australia was keen to host the exercise this time,” a senior official told TOI on Sunday. “The Quad nations, which have affirmed their commitment for a free, open and rules-based international order across the entire Indo-Pacific, are now equal stakeholders in the Malabar series of exercises,” he added.

With China fast building its Navy, which is already the world’s largest with 355 warships and submarines, it’s felt that a structured maritime partnership among the Quad countries is required to tackle any challenges in the years ahead.
While India’s defence ties with countries like the US and Japan have traditionally been strong, Beijing’s muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific have led New Delhi and Canberra to shed their past inhibitions in strengthening their bilateral military engagement, guarding as they do the two flanks of the Indian Ocean.
Australian PM Anthony Albanese will be visiting India on a four-day bilateral visit next month, and will return for the G20 summit in September. In between, PM Narendra Modi will be in Australia for the Quad leaders’ summit.
Australia is keen to further expand defence ties with India by increasing the complexity of bilateral and multilateral exercises, enhancing cooperation in maritime domain awareness and reciprocal military logistics, exchanging classified information and intelligence-sharing, and kicking-off military-industrial collaboration.