US, Japan, Australia, India holding Malabar joint naval exercise in Bay of Bengal

The drill involves two Japanese escort vessels, the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, an Australian frigate and an Indian destroyer

The ‘Quad’ nations say they are working together to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific region and counter China’s growing economic and military clout

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Naval vessels take part in the second phase of the Malabar naval exercise in which India, Australia, Japan and the US are taking part in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:45pm, 13 Oct 2021Updated: 2:51pm, 13 Oct 2021

The naval forces of the United States, Japan, Australia and India have started a joint exercise, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed, in the face of China’s maritime assertiveness in the region.

The four nations, known as the “Quad”, are holding the Malabar exercise from Tuesday until Thursday in the Bay of Bengal in the northeastern Indian Ocean, according to the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force.

The exercise involves two Japanese escort vessels, the US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, an Australian frigate and an Indian destroyer, the MSDF said.

The Quad nations are working together to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific region and counter China’s growing economic and military clout, they said. The four countries also held a joint drill in late August as they bolster security cooperation.

Ships are seen during the second phase of the Malabar naval exercise in the Indian Ocean. Photo: AFP

“Together, we recommit to promoting the free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law and undaunted by coercion, to bolster security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” they said in a joint statement released after the leaders of the four nations met in September.