Malabar drill in August to send out Quad message to China

While India and China have been locked in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh for nearly 15 months, ships from the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet will deploy to Southeast Asia, the South China Sea, and the Western Pacific, where they will take part in joint exercises with navies from neighbouring countries and Quad members.

A Task Force of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet is scheduled to go on an Overseas Deployment to South East Asia, the South China Sea, and the Western Pacific from early August 2021 for over two months in pursuit of the "Act East policy" and "to enhance military cooperation with friendly countries," the Navy said in a statement on Monday.

The deployment of Indian Navy ships aims to emphasise the operational reach, peaceful presence, and solidarity with friendly countries in order to ensure good order in the maritime domain and to deepen existing relationships between India and Indo Pacific countries, according to the Navy.

The task group consists of the guided missile destroyer INS Ranvijay, the guided missile frigate INS Shivalik, the anti-submarine corvette INS Kadmatt, and the guided missile corvette INS Kora, according to the report.

“The ships are scheduled to participate in bilateral exercises with the Royal Malaysian Navy (Samudra Laxmana), the Vietnamese Peoples' Navy, the Republic of Philippines Navy, the Republic of Singapore Navy (SIMBEX), the Indonesian Navy (Samudra Shakti), and the Royal Australian Navy during their deployment in the Indo Pacific (AUS-INDEX). They would also take part in the multinational exercise MALABAR-21 in the Western Pacific with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Navy, and United States Navy.”

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