Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – The U.S. Seventh Fleet announced on Thursday (November 20) that military personnel from the United States, Australia, Japan, and India have just concluded the Malabar joint military exercise in the Western Pacific to enhance overall interoperability among their forces. This marks the sixth time that the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue member states have jointly participated in the exercise.
The U.S. Seventh Fleet, responsible for the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans, said in a statement released Thursday that military personnel from the U.S., Australia, Japan, and India participated in the Malabar exercise, which took place from November 10-18 in Guam and its surrounding waters.
The statement said, “This cooperative exercise brought together military personnel from four Indo-Pacific nations to enhance their skills in advanced maneuvering scenarios, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, information sharing, maritime operations, and exchanges of expertise across various topics, thereby improving overall interoperability among the forces.”
This year marks the 29th Malabar exercise, a joint military exercise that began in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the United States and India. Japan and Australia later joined. This marks the sixth time that members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) have jointly participated in the Malabar exercise.
The Seventh Fleet stated that the navies of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States regularly conduct joint operations in the Indo-Pacific region to maintain regional security and stability.
This year's exercise was led by the United States. The planning, leadership, and location of the Malabar exercise rotate annually among participating countries, aiming to demonstrate their ability to conduct joint exercises throughout the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The Seventh Fleet is the largest forward-deployed fleet of the U.S. Navy, with 50 to 70 resident ships and submarines, 150 aircraft, and over 27,000 sailors and Marines. The fleet is currently commanded by Navy three-star Vice Admiral Fred Kacher. Its area of operation encompasses 36 maritime nations, covering 50% of the world's population, including the five largest foreign militaries—China, Russia, India, North Korea, and South Korea—and the five U.S. mutual defense treaty allies—the Philippines, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand.
To counter China, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe first proposed the QUAD concept. After taking office, President Biden hosted the Quad summit at the White House in September 2021. He subsequently hosted the summit in Tokyo in 2022 and in Delaware in 2024. On January 21, his second day in office, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted a meeting of the Quad's foreign ministers in Washington.
Prior to the Malabar naval exercises, the US and India signed the Framework Agreement on Major US-India Defense Partnership during the 12th ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus in Kuala Lumpur in October. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh previously posted on social media platform X that defense cooperation has always been a major pillar of the US-India bilateral relationship. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the US-India relationship "one of the most far-reaching and influential relationships in the world."
The joint India-U.S. air combat exercise "Cope India 2025" will be held in India in November, with Australia and Japan participating as observers. Japan participated in the exercise as an observer in 2023, while this will be Australia's first time participating.
