The Quad Summit, scheduled to take place in Sydney, has been canceled. However, the navies of the United States, India, Australia, and Japan will still participate in the advanced Malabar 2023 exercises off Australia’s east coast from August 11 to 22. These exercises aim to enhance interoperability, practice sea deterrence and sea denial, and ensure freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The upcoming drills will involve both maritime and harbor stages, and senior commanders from the Quad navies will address the Indo-Pacific region.
The Indian Navy will participate in Malabar 2023 with its advanced destroyers, P 8 I anti-submarine warfare planes, and a submarine. This participation is made possible through a logistical agreement with all three Quad partners. Japan has been a permanent partner since 2015, and Australia joined the Quad in 2020.
According to authorities cited by the Hindustan Times, the primary focus of the naval exercises will be anti-submarine warfare operations. This is in response to the increasingly assertive behavior of the PLA Navy in the Indo-Pacific, including its claims over the entire South China Sea, which has concerned ASEAN countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia.
Beijing’s strategic objective is to control the far Pacific by deploying its warships and submarines along the first and second island chains off its eastern coastline. The PLA Navy has been rapidly developing its nuclear-powered conventional armed submarines. Additionally, China has constructed missile parks with conventional DF-21 missiles on its eastern coast to deter the US Navy from operating in the South China Sea. China has even threatened to use DF-26 missiles to target US naval and military sites on Guam.
In a separate development, the India-US military exercise program was discussed during the 17th meeting of the bilateral defense policy group. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing collaboration and interoperability between their forces across all domains and services. The defense policy group meeting was co-chaired by Indian Defense Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Dr. Colin Kahl, US Under Secretary for Policy at the Pentagon.
The discussions covered common interests in the Indian Ocean region and aligning bilateral cooperation with other like-minded partnerships to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. The meeting emphasized economic cooperation, maritime security, and technology collaboration, reflecting the strong and comprehensive relations between the two natural allies.
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