Navies from four Quad nations- US, India, Australia, and Japan- will participate in advanced Malabar 2023 exercises off the east coast of down under nation from August 11 to 22 this year, media reports said.

The complex exercises will include both sea and harbor phases with top commanders of Quad navies discussing the Indo-Pacific, reports Hindustan Times.

With India having a logistics agreement with all the other three QUAD partners, the Indian Navy will participate with its top-of-the-line destroyers, P 8 I anti-submarine warfare aircraft and a submarine at the Malabar 2023, which started as a Indo-US bilateral exercise way back in 1992. Japan was made a permanent partner in 2015 and Australia joined in 2020 to complete the Quad, the newspaper reported.

According to officials, the basic focus of the naval exercise will be anti-submarine warfare operations with the PLA Navy getting belligerent in the Indo-Pacific after laying claims on the entire South China much to the chagrin of ASEAN countries like Philippines and Indonesia in particular.

Meanwhile,  the 4th edition of the Indo-Indonesia bilateral Exercise Samudra Shakti-23 concluded in the South China Sea.

The sea phase held from 17-19 May 2023 witnessed the participation of ASW corvette INS Kavaratti with integral Chetak helicopter and a Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

The Indonesian Navy assets included KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda with integral helicopter Panther and a CN 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

A series of complex exercises including tactical manoeuvres, weapon firings, helicopter operations, Air defence and Anti-Submarine warfare exercises were undertaken that enhanced interoperability between the two navies.

The sea phase was preceded by a fruitful harbour phase which saw professional interactions, table top exercises and sports exchanges.

The successful completion of Exercise Samudra Shakti-23, illustrated the strong partnership between India and Indonesia and reaffirmed the commitment of both navies to promote peace and stability in the region through cooperative engagements.\