Malabar Naval exercise 2020 to begin today in Visakhapatnam coast

The Indian Navy will participate in the Malabar-2020 Joint Naval Exercise with its Allies from Tuesday to enhance coordination in the Indo-Pacific region. The exercise, which will be conducted in two phases, will involve the US Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) conducting joint naval exercises at sea. The first phase of Malabar-2020 will be held on the coast of Visakhapatnam from 3 to 6 this month.

It is noted that this is the first time where the four countries engaging in the exercise, that is primarily focussed to get an idea over the China's military power. On the other hand, after first phase of the exercise, the second phase would be held between November 17 to November 20 over Arabian sea.

This naval exercise first launched in 1992 among India and United States Navy drill and later Japan joined in 2015 and now Australia is taking part for the first time. In the wake of coronavirus, the exercise is said to be conducted as non contact, at sea only. This exercise will showcase the power and coordination of the navies, which is based on shared values.