Malabar exercise could be expanded if Quad partners agree, says US Navy

The scope of the annual Malabar joint naval exercises could be expanded to include other like-minded nations in the future if the Quad nations agree on it, a top US Navy officer has said, adding that the focus was to train for high-end operations 'in the air, on the sea and under the sea'.

The US Chief of Naval Operations, US Navy (CNO), Admiral Michael M Gilday, who is visiting India and has met several top military leaders, said that bilateral enabling agreements between India and the US for communications and logistics sharing are operational and 'blossoming'.

The senior US official met top Indian military leadership, including CDS Bipin Rawat on a day the second phase of the India-US-Japan-Australia Malabar exercise kicked off in the Bay of Bengal.


The Admiral said that India and the US are natural partners and the focus will be to enhance interoperability for high-end operations. He added that talks revolved around leveraging the technical base available in India for mutual benefit and the focus of talks was on a safe and stable Indian Ocean Region.