Indian warships reach Guam for Malabar wargames
India's stealth frigate INS Shivalik and anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kadmatt arrived in Guam to participate in the 25th edition of Malabar exercise with the Australian, Japanese and the US navies, scheduled to take place from August 26.
FollowAmidst China's assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, India's stealth frigate INS Shivalik and anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kadmatt arrived in Guam to participate in the 25th edition of Malabar exercise with the Australian, Japanese and the US navies, scheduled to take place from August 26.Â
The grouping of four nations is also called QUAD, which China believes that the effort of maritime exercise is to check its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Besides these four nations, several countries strongly vouched for an open, free and inclusive Indo-pacific.
Guam is an island territory of the US in the Western Pacific, where the Indian Navy's two ships have arrived to carry out a series of complex drills. The exercise will culminate on August 29.
As part of their ongoing deployment to nations in South East Asia and the Pacific Ocean, these ships are the latest indigenously designed and built, multi-role guided missile stealth frigate and anti-submarine corvette respectively.
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The warships form part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam in the Eastern Naval Command.Â
The exercise is aimed at providing an opportunity for common-minded navies to gain from best practices, enhance interoperability and develop a common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.
Malabar 2021 would see exercises conducted between destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, helicopters and long-range maritime patrol aircraft of Indian, Australian, Japanese and US navies.
Complex surface, sub-surface and air operations, including live weapon firing drills, anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare drills, joint manoeuvres and tactical exercises will be conducted during the exercise, he said.
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Eastern Naval Command Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice Admiral AB Singh will have operational discussions with Rear Admiral Leonard "Butch" Dollaga, Commander CTF-74, during the exercise which will revolve around developing an action plan and coordinated operations in the maritime domain. Â
Captain Kapil Mehta commands the INS Shivalik while Commander RK Maharana is at the helm of the INS Kadmatt. Both warships are equipped with a versatile array of weapons and sensors, carry multi-role helicopters and represent the growth of India's warship-building capabilities.
Commenced in 1992 as a bilateral India Navy and the US Navy maritime exercise, the Malabar exercise has grown in stature over the years to include four prominent navies in the Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.
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