Malabar exercise kicks off today in Bay of Bengal

The navies of India, United States, Japan and Australia will kick off the first phase of the Malabar exercise in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday at a time of Chinese sabre-rattling in the Indo-Pacific region and military tensions with India in the eastern Ladakh theatre, officials said on Monday,

The 24th edition of the Malabar exercise is scheduled in two phases with the first phase set to kick-start off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from November 3-6, the Indian Navy said in a statement on Monday.

“Phase-1 of Malabar 20 will witness participation of Indian Navy units with United States Ship (USS) John S McCain (guided-missile destroyer), Her Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) Ballarat (long-range frigate) with integral MH-60 helicopter, and Japan Maritime Self Defence Ship (JMSDF) Onami (destroyer) with integral SH-60 helicopter,” it said.