The multilateral Exercise Malabar 22 between the navies of India, Japan, Australia and the US began with an opening ceremony hosted by the JMSDF onboard JS Hyuga at Yokosuka, Japan

Photo Credit : Indian Navy,

Malabar 2022, a multilateral exercise between the navies of India, Japan, the United States and Australia, began on Wednesday with an opening ceremony hosted by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) onboard the JS Hyuga in Yokosuka, Japan.

The Indian delegation was led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF) and included commanding officers and crew from the INS Shivalik and INS Kamorta.

“The multilateral Exercise Malabar 22 between the navies of India, Japan, Australia and the US began today with an opening ceremony hosted by the JMSDF onboard JS Hyuga at Yokosuka, Japan. RAdm Sanjay Bhalla FOCEF led the Indian delegation comprising COs & crew of INS Shivalik and INS Kamorta at the ceremony,” Indian Navy tweeted.

Vice Admiral Yuasa Hideki, Commander in Chief, Self Defense Fleet JMSDF, Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, Commander, US Navy Seventh Fleet and Rear Admiral Jonathan Earley, Commander of the Australian Fleet all took part in the opening ceremony, along with members of their respective navies.

On 2 November, Indian Naval ships Shivalik and Kamorta arrived in Japan to participate in the exercise Malabar 2022 and the International Fleet Review (IFR).

The presence of these indigenously built ships of the Indian Navy at these multi-national events provides an opportunity to showcase Indian Shipyards' ship-building capabilities at a large international gathering.

The Malabar Exercise began in 1992 as a bilateral naval exercise between India’s and the United States’ navies. In 2015, Japan joined the Malabar exercise, making it a trilateral exercise and Australia joined Malabar in 2020, making it a quadrilateral naval exercise.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue also includes India, the United States, Australia and Japan (QUAD).

Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), is on an official visit to Japan, where he attended the International Fleet Review (IFR) conducted by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force at Yokosuka on 6 November to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its formation.

During his visit, he also met with naval commanders from the Royal Australian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the United States Navy.

The Malabar series of exercises has grown in scope and complexity over time.