After a false start 15 years ago, the annual Malabar naval exercise has become a key strategic development for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue partners, the United States, India, Japan and Australia.
Warships from the four nations have just concluded the 26th iteration of Exercise Malabar, which began under an agreement between the Indian hosts and the US in 1992. The original aim was to improve interoperability between the US and Indian navies, and for many years the exercise involved few ships.
In 2007, warships from the US, India, Japan and Australia took part, but that aroused anger in Beijing, which sent each of the four countries a diplomatic note, or démarche, criticising what it saw as a developing security relationship.
Time for a ‘Radford–Collins’ agreement for the Quad? | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)
