MALABAR 2017: India, Japan, U.S. begins mega naval exercise

The 21st edition of the 'MALABAR-2017' naval exercise began in the Bay of Bengal on Monday and will last till July 17.

The primary aim of this exercise is to increase interoperability amongst the three navies of India, U.S. and Japan and to reiterate the strong and resilient relationship between them in many areas, including maritime security operations.

The scope of MALABAR-2017 includes wide-ranging professional interactions during the Harbour Phase at Chennai from 10 to 13 July 2017 and a diverse range of operational activities at sea during the Sea Phase from 14 to 17 July 17.

The thrust of exercises at sea this year would be on Aircraft Carrier operations, Air Defence, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Surface Warfare, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), Search and Rescue, Joint Manoeuvres and Tactical procedures.

In addition, officials from the three countries will be flown onboard the ships at sea on 15 July.

The Indian Navy will be represented by the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya with its air wing, guided missile destroyer Ranvir, indigenous stealth frigates Shivalik and Sahyadri, indigenous ASW corvette Kamorta, missile corvettes Kora and Kirpan, one Sindhughosh class submarine, fleet tanker INS Jyoti and Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I.

The U.S. Navy will be represented by the ships from the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and other units from the U.S. 7th Fleet.

The U.S. Navy forces will include the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Nimitz with its air wing, Ticonderoga-class cruiser Princeton, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Kidd, Howard and Shoup along with integral helicopters, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine and one Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8A.

"Around 75 aircrafts have embarked. Hope all maritime nations are watching what we are doing. Coming together is important in order to learn how to inter-operate with each other in peacetime and crises," U.S. Rear Admiral W.D. Byrne Jr. told ANI.

The exercise will also witness a separate interaction between IN and USN Special Forces and Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams at the IN MARCOS training base INS Karna at Visakhapatnam.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) will be represented by JS Izumo, a helicopter carrier with SH 60K helicopters and JS Sazanami, a missile destroyer with SH 60K integral helicopter.

MALABAR-2017 will be another milestone with participation of 16 ships, two submarines and more than 95 aircraft, towards strengthening mutual confidence and inter-operability as well as sharing of best practices between the Indian, Japanese and the U.S. Navies.

The exercise is a demonstration of the joint commitment of all three nations to address common maritime challenges across the spectrum of operations and will go a long way in enhancing maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, for the benefit of the global maritime community.

The MALABAR series of exercises, initiated in 1992 between the Indian and US Navies, have steadily grown in scope, complexity and participation into a multifaceted exercise with the participation of the JMSDF.