Why in News:

• Japan will host the 2022 edition of the Malabar naval exercise consisting of India, Australia, Japan and the U.S.

History of the Malabar exercise

• The Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian Navy and the U.S. Navy in the Indian Ocean.
• Japan became a permanent member of the exercise in 2015.
• Following India’s invitation, Australia participated in the Malabar exercise in 2020,  which effectively made it a drill by all four member nations of the Quad.

Significance of the Malabar exercise

• There have been mounting global concerns over China’s growing military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
• India, the U.S., Australia, Japan and many other like-minded countries are working towards ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
• The exercise will provide an opportunity for common minded navies to enhance inter-operability, gain from best practices and develop a common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations

Other recent military exercises

• India and Japan held the sixth edition of the bilateral naval exercise Jimex-2022 in September
• Indian Air Force (IAF) joined 16 other nations, including the Quad partner countries, for Exercise Pitch Black, the biennial exercise hosted by Australian Air Force, which saw the participation of about 100 aircraft and 2,500 military personnel from 17 nations.
• India-U.S. bilateral Army exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ is scheduled to take place in the high altitude areas of Uttarakhand, around 100 km (aerial distance) from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• Indian Navy participated in the multinational exercise Kakadu hosted by Royal Australian Navy (RAN)
• While the engagement with the Quad countries and the Indo-Pacific countries continues, India had sent an Army contingent for the multilateral strategic and command Exercise Vostok – 2022 in the Eastern Military district in Russia in early September, which also saw the participation of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
• India is currently hosting the multilateral anti-terror exercise ‘Manesar Anti-terror 2022’ under the ambit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indian-navy-to-join-exercise-malabar-in-japan-next-month/article65989029.ece