Amid Sino-India tension, biggest navy participation in Malabar exercise

Malabar will witness the participation of 95 aircraft and 17 warships

With Indian and Chinese troops locked in confrontation in disputed territory along their border, the Indian Navy is turning out in unprecedented strength in the India-US-Japan naval exercise, Malabar, in the Bay of Bengal on July 10-17.

Nine Indian warships, including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, and a Kilo-class submarine will join American and Japanese warships in an annual exercise that is all about operational preparation against China’s increasingly aggressive navy.

In the largest-ever Malabar exercise in 2007, 26 warships had taken part, including eight Indian and 13 US Navy warships, two from the so-called Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF), and