The Malabar Naval Exercise: Why It's Important

The Malabar exercise is a very important set of joint maneuvers carried out by the navies of India, Japan, the United States and Australia. Its fifth edition was recently held off the coast of the host, Guam, from November 10 to 18. A US Navy press release notes that "This year marks the 29th iteration of the Malabar exercise, which began in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the United States and India."

It goes on to note: "This marks the sixth time that all four nations have participated in Malabar to advance the collective planning, integration, and employment of advanced warfare tactics across participating nations."

Why Are They Important?

The Malabar exercise comes at an important time in the Indo-Pacific, especially in light of tensions between Japan and China. These have not done well since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks hinting that a Chinese naval blockade in the vicinity of Taiwan could be a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, potentially triggering the mobilization of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF). The Japanese PM's remarks led to a diplomatic spat and were used by China to send relations to a new low, even though she was just stating the obvious.

The Malabar exercises serve several purposes.

First, these are important to increase the interoperability between the forces of these four democratic countries. This is especially so in the light of a belligerent China. In the case of India, there have been clashes between the Indian and the Chinese forces in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh in 2020. Those clashes destroyed the trust between the two countries and resulted in the first loss of lives in 45 years.

Facing Challenges Together

In the case of the United States, President Donald Trump has gone the hard way in his fight against China, especially on the economic front. While US President Trump met with his Chinese counterpart in South Korea for a short meeting, there are a lot of challenges in the bilateral relationship. Those are yet to be resolved. Hence, it is very important that the US, India, Japan, and the US come together in the maritime realm for deterrence.

*The Malabar Exercise 2025, as viewed from the deck of the Indian Navy's Shivalik-class destroyer, INS Sahyadri. (Courtesy of Indian Navy)*

A press release from the Indian Navy notes that "Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri is at Guam in the Northern Pacific for participation in the multilateral Exercise Malabar-2025. The participation of INS Sahyadri in Exercise Malabar-2025 reaffirms India's enduring partnership and its commitment to strengthening coordination, enhancing interoperability, and demonstrating a collective resolve to safeguard regional security."

Cooperation in Other Configurations

The navies of these four countries have already been conducting a string of exercises with each other. With Japan, the Indian armed forces also conduct a series of exercises at the bilateral level. These include the JIMEX naval exercises between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime SDF. There are also the Dharma Guardian exercises between India's Army and the Japan Ground SDF. Meanwhile, the Japan Air SDF and the Indian Air Force have taken part in the Veer Guardian exercises.

In addition, the navies of these four countries have been involved in exercises like the Rim of the Pacific Exercise. These countries face conventional threats in the naval arena. However, they face a series of threats in the non-conventional arena too. It is worth noting that their navies first came together, for humanitarian reasons, following the Indian Ocean tsunami way back in December 2004.

*Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walk together in front of Tiananmen Square on September 3. (©Reuters)*

Challenges

One challenge impacting the Malabar exercise is India's close ties with Russia. This is different from the other three countries. New Delhi also imports a host of Russian-made weapons platforms. This can create some issues when it comes to interoperability.

At the same time, individually, Malabar exercise nations have close economic ties with China. Hence, sometimes they can be loath to take tough decisions on the political front. In addition, while Japan and Australia are US allies, India is a friend and not an ally.

The Road Ahead

The fact that the Malabar exercises are going on in spite of regional and political tensions clearly shows that in the long term, the Quad countries are investing in these multilateral ties.

The United States and India also take part in a string of separate bilateral and multilateral exercises. Besides, the US now sells a huge array of weapons to India. This aids interoperability and is a big change from the times of the Cold War.

In the realm of defense, the US and India are coming closer together in a way like never before. Washington understands that India is a major bulwark against China, especially given its size and population. In the past, the US Pacific Command was renamed as the US Indo-Pacific Command, given the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific in the global scheme of things.

Although the Quad Summit is yet to be held this year due to a string of challenges, the fact that these exercises went on as scheduled is indeed a good sign.

The Malabar exercises are indeed a good reflection of the growing ties between these four countries, especially in the maritime arena. A free and open Indo-Pacific is indeed essential for the continued economic progress of India, Japan, the US, and Australia.

Author: Dr Rupakjyoti Borah

Dr Rupakjyoti Borah is a Senior Research Fellow with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, Tokyo. The views expressed here are personal.