India, the US and Japan will participate together in ‘Malabar’ naval exercise next week in the Bay of Bengal, which will witness American aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in action along with a nuclear submarine besides a variety of Indian and Japanese naval assets.
USA’s elite special forces like Naval commandos Marcos and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team will also be deployed in the annual exercise.
Japan’s latest Akizuki-class destroyer equipped with a heavy helicopter will also participate in the week-long exercise that is held annually.
India is deploying a Russian-origin submarine besides an R-Class destroyer, one Shivalik Class frigate, one tanker, one Betwa guided missile frigate, a P8i maritime surveillance aircraft and two different types of helicopters.
The exercise, to be held from October 12-19, will see US’ Nimitz-class 100,000-tonne carrier and the USS Theodore Roosevelt (Rough Ride) in action. It comes with its own Strike Group which consists of a USS Normandy (guided missile cruiser), USS Fort Worth (littoral combat ship), rotary UAV Fire Scout MQ8 and a nuclear-powered submarine USS City of Corpus Christi besides
the P8A maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
‘Malabar’ is an annual naval training exercise conducted by Indian and American Navies, which includes fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers and other maneuvers. However, India this year invited Japan to be part of the exercise along with the US.
Japan had last taken part in the Malabar hosted by India in 2007. However, a strong reaction from China against the inclusion of Japan and Australia in 2007 led to the exercises being largely kept bilateral.