The Phase II of the Malabar exercise featuring the navies of all Quad nations will begin from October 12 in the Bay of Bengal. The navies of India, the US, Australia, and Japan will carry out a sea drill termed as Malabar Phase-2.
The second phase comes six weeks after the first phase of the exercise that was conducted off Guam, an island territory of the US located 2500 Km east of the Philippines.
This is the first time that the Malabar exercise is being conducted in two phases and in separate oceans. Between the two phases, the top leaders of Quad had their first physical meeting in Washington in the last week of September.
A series of complex surface, underwater and air operations are planned for the event. The Japanese have sent in flat-deck helicopter carrier JS Kaga, while the US Navy has decided to involve USS Carl Vinson, one of the world’s largest warships.
