As China tension abates, Navy to send fewer warships for Exercise Malabar

The admirals say this year's exercise will involve unprecedented complexity, featuring enemy threats in all three dimensions, but especially underwater threats from submarines - a key Chinese strength

The Indian Navy is sending three surface warships and a surveillance aircraft to the annual US-Japan-India trilateral Exercise Malabar 2018, being held in Guam, in the Pacific Ocean. Last year, amid tensions with China, it had sent thrice that number. “The Navy will be represented by two indigenously designed and built ships, the multi-purpose stealth frigate INS Sahyadri and anti-submarine warfare corvette, INS Kamorta, fleet tanker INS Shakti and a long range maritime patrol aircraft P-8I,” said an official Navy release on Monday.
 
In Malabar 2017, held in the Bay of Bengal, India had fielded aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya