India, US and Japan today held a trilateral Naval Exercise Malabar-2015 in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Tamil Nadu, as an initiative to ensure freedom of navigation in the region and enhance communication among the three navies.
The exercise included anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue and others. There was a good number of vessels and flights deployed by the Indian and Japanese navies. There was a good mix of frigates and destroyers.
This year’s exercises assumed significance because of India’s move to invite Japan, much to the chagrin of China, which views Japan as a strategic rival in the Asia-Pacific region.
China had on October 12 said it was not “that fragile” to be affected by the trilateral drills, reacting sharply to Japan joining the October 14-19 exercises being held by the Indian and US navies in the Bay of Bengal.
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