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India is hosting this year’s Malabar Naval Exercise—a joint exercise between the four Quad countries, i.e. United States (US), Australia, Japan, and India—under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam, India. Conducted in two phases—Harbour and Sea—this year’s exercise has seen participation from all four Quad countries. While the exercise originated in 1992 as a bilateral naval cooperation between India and the US, it gained further traction when Australia and Japan joined. Previously, the exercise had also seen participation from Canada and Singapore. Geopolitical and strategic compulsions had led to Japan and Australia withdrawing from the exercise in the 2010s. While Japan returned to the exercise in 2014, Australia only rejoined the exercise in 2020.
China’s maritime overtures in the Indo-Pacific have rendered a rules-based order in the region vulnerable, necessitating cooperation and synergy among proponents of a free and open Indo-Pacific and their like-minded partners.
Since 2020, the Malabar Exercise has been conducted annually with participation from all Quad countries. Importantly, the exercise is not hosted as part of the Quad rubric but held independently. However, the consistency and commitment of the member countries towards this exercise are also emblematic of the growing synergy among the Quad countries. Geopolitical realities have dramatically changed over the last decade. China’s maritime overtures in the Indo-Pacific have rendered a rules-based order in the region vulnerable, necessitating cooperation and synergy among proponents of a free and open Indo-Pacific and their like-minded partners. This has led to the emergence of various configurations in the Indo-Pacific to address challenges posed by Chinese adventurism in the region. The emergence of the AUKUS, Squad—a grouping comprising Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the US—or even the Quad is widely seen as a response to the China phenomenon. However, the Quad has remained reluctant in positioning itself as an ‘anti-China club’. This has also drawn criticism towards the group from sceptics for being short on strategically assertive towards China.
While the Quad continues to emphasise on shared opportunities in the Indo-Pacific, a parallel arrangement of strengthening cooperation and interoperability among the navies of the Quad member-states is underway through the Malabar Exercise. Interestingly, the Malabar Exercise has been conducted at various geographies across the Indo-Pacific every year. This year, the exercise is being held at the Bay of Bengal. Previous editions have been held in the South Pacific, East China Sea, Philippine Sea, Arabian Sea, etc. The wide-ranging geographies covered by the navies of the four countries indicate the urgency to expand the geographical contours in which their synergy is playing out.
Why are such naval exercises important?
Maritime security remains a vital domain where countries are increasingly seeking cooperation. Through the Quad, the four countries have sought to expand cooperation on specific areas of maritime security—primarily Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) activities. In the recently concluded Quad leaders’ summit, the group launched the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission and the Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network to bolster efforts of coast-guard-level synergy and cooperation in HADR activities, as articulated in the historic Wilmington Declaration. In addition to this, the Quad countries are enhancing interoperability and naval cooperation. According to a statement made by Admiral. Steve Koehler, the Malabar Exercise seeks to not only reinforce the shared commitment to a values-based order in the Indo-Pacific but also deter conflict. This suggests the shared synergy among the Quad countries to advance vital posturing against Chinese adventurism in the Indo-Pacific.
The nuance and maturity of the Quad member states lie in that it has sought to cultivate a parallel forum or platform to enhance cooperation on maritime security.
While the Malabar Exercise does not explicitly define itself as a force against Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific, it is implied when read between the lines. This is where the importance of this exercise is underlined. Importantly, maritime security cooperation is often preceded by political consensus. The nuance and maturity of the Quad member states lie in that it has sought to cultivate a parallel forum or platform to enhance cooperation on maritime security. Over the years, the Malabar Naval Exercise has traversed across various important theatres in the wider Indo-Pacific. In addition to strengthening cooperation on increasing interoperability, it has also conveyed a political message that the Quad countries are seeking active engagement and cooperation towards maritime security efforts.
The larger takeaway is that the Malabar Exercise seems to be emblematic of growing synergy among Quad countries in joint efforts towards constructing a favourable maritime security environment in the Indo-Pacific. This appears to be underway in a phased manner whereby the Quad countries through this exercise are conducting joint drills and enhancing interoperability in geographies that are critical to these countries. This seeks to serve three interrelated purposes. First, efforts of synergy and cooperation are visible among Quad countries to deter unilateral action by any actor in the Indo-Pacific. Second, the Quad countries opting for a parallel track of cooperation helps retain the Quad’s positive agenda of harnessing shared opportunities rather than being directed against anyone. Third, it also helps address critics of the Quad by adding a robust maritime security dimension in cooperation among the Quad countries. This is, in fact, a helpful arrangement of cooperation given the complexities of the strategic compulsions of the Quad countries.
The Malabar Exercise represents a calibrated response to the overall geopolitical and maritime security matrix manifesting in the Indo-Pacific.
Amid a worsening security environment in the Indo-Pacific, the Malabar Naval Exercise is a vital effort to deter China’s growing belligerence in the region. As several key pockets in the Indo-Pacific theatre emerge as strategic and security flashpoints on account of Chinese unilateral action and disregard for a rules-based order, such exercises will remain critical. The Malabar Exercise represents a calibrated response to the overall geopolitical and maritime security matrix manifesting in the Indo-Pacific. However, the most notable aspect of the exercise appears to be its success in enhancing cooperation and synergy among Quad countries in maritime security efforts while retaining the group’s positive agenda. In that, the exercise symbolises growing synergy among the Quad countries.
Sayantan Haldar is a Research Assistant at ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme.
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