India will be holding a series of military drills over the next two months to bolster military-to-military ties with friendly nations. Among the wargames, the Indian Navy will participate in the Malabar quadrilateral exercise off the coast of Japan, the US forces will join Indian Army for the Indo-US exercise Yudh Abhyas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Australian forces will join Indian Army for an infantry exercise in the deserts of Rajasthan.
The Malabar exercise, which is slated to take place between November 8-18 with the QUAD countries, is clearly aimed at countering the Chinese footprints in the Indo-Pacific. India will be participating in the exercise with stealth frigate INS Shivalik, INS Kamorta, the anti-submarine corvette and the P-8i long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft as friendly forces join Indian Navy in their endeavour to bat for open seas.
Even as Exercise Malabar continues, India will join hands with the US for a major land exercise – Yudh Abhyas – to be held in Uttarakhand’s Auli between November 15-December 2. According to a report in the Times of India, the exercise will witness participation of 350 soldiers from each side in a deployment of integrated battle groups. The US forces will be joining Indian Army in this exercise which will also include heliborne and surveillance element.
Between November 28- December 11, Australian army will join Indian Army to hold their first infantry combat exercise Austra-Hind near the Mahajan field range in Rajasthan. The exercise will provide the much-desired operational experience in semi-desert terrain. On Wednesday, India and Singapore began exercise SIMBEX off Bay of Bengal.
The developments may be viewed against the fact that India and China have been locked in a prolonged military standoff at various points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). India, along with the international community is also concerned about China’s expansionist designs on land, as well as in South China Sea.