Australia will join an annual maritime exercise involving the United States, Japan and India.
India’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement Monday (Oct. 19): “The Australian Navy will participate in Exercise Malabar 2020 at a time when India is trying to increase the presence of other countries in the maritime security sector and in view of the increased defense cooperation with Australia.”
The exercise will take place next month in the Bay of Bengal.
The Malabar Naval Exercise began as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, with Japan joining as a permanent member in 2017. Australia participated in the Malabar exercises in 2007, but Canberra did not return to the exercises after strong opposition from Beijing. In recent years, while Australia has expressed willingness to participate in the exercises, India has not agreed, fearing Beijing’s feelings.
Just as Australia was formally invited to participate in this year’s Malabar exercises, the United States, Japan, India, and Australia held “four-way talks” at the foreign minister level in Tokyo earlier this month.
India’s relations with China have been strained in recent months due to border conflicts in the Himalayas. Relations have also deteriorated this year after Beijing retaliated after the Australian government called for an international investigation into the origin of the new coronavirus.
Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said the Malabar exercise was a landmark opportunity for the Australian Defense Force, demonstrating “the deep trust between the four major Indo-Pacific democracies and their common willingness to work together in the interests of common security”.
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