SYDNEY – India, Japan, the United States and Australia will hold the Malabar navy exercise off the coast of Sydney on Friday, the first time the war games previously held in the Indian Ocean will take place in Australia.
Japanese and Indian navy vessels stopped in Pacific island countries Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea on the way to Sydney, highlighting the strategic importance of the region at a time of friction between China and the US.
Vice-Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet, said at a news conference on Thursday in Sydney that the exercise was “not pointed towards any one country” and would improve the ability of the four forces to work with one another.
“The deterrence that our four nations provide as we operate together as a Quad is a foundation for all the other nations operating in this region,” Vice-Adm Thomas said.
“Oceania, the island nations that are just north-east of Australia… all of our nations now are focusing on those countries,” he added.
The Indian Navy’s Vice-Adm Dinesh Tripathi said there have been large changes in the world since the US and India held the first Malabar exercise in 1992 at the end of the Cold War.
When Australia participated for the first time in 2007, it “sent some signals around the world”, he said.
Australia dropped out of the so-called Quad in 2008 after protests from China over its participation in Malabar. The Quad was revived, and Australia rejoined Malabar in 2020, although China continues to criticise the grouping as an attempt to contain it.
“The Pacific is very important to us,” said the Australian fleet commander, Rear-Admiral Christopher Smith.
“We understand people have ambition to continue to grow and develop… but it’s about transparency,” he added.
Ships from the four nations will be joined by Australian F-35 fighter jets, P-8 surveillance aircraft and submarines.
“The underwater battle space is seen to be the front line in terms of competition and potential future conflicts”, Rear-Adm Smith said.
He said the exercise would be held off the east coast of Australia instead of the west coast that faces the Indian Ocean, because ships were near the east coast after the larger Talisman Sabre exercise involving 13 nations that closed last week. REUTERS
