Indian, US navies exercise in IOR
Amid the stand-off with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Indian Navy warships and the US Navy’s carrier strike group led by the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, the world’s largest warship, on Monday carried out a ‘passage exercise (Passex)’ in the Indian Ocean Region (ICR).
A senior Navy official said that four Indian warships and four US ships took part in the exercise. India and US navies have been increasing their interoperability through a series of exercises in the past few years.
Last week, the Indian Navy had carried out an extensive exercise off the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which dominates the major sea trade routes for Chinese ships. Indian Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force had conducted a similar exercise in June.
“Indian Navy conducting an exercise with US Navy ships which have been sent particularly to the South China Sea to keep a check on the Chinese Navy’s activity is a strong message to China,” said sources.
India is looking at inviting Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercise which includes Japan and the US. If the proposal is approved, all members of ‘Quad’ — India, US, Japan and Australia — will be carrying out military exercises in the Bay of Bengal in a signal to China that its aggression in sea will not go unchallenged.
The US had deployed its aircraft carriers, the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Nimitz, along with their escorting cruisers and destroyers in the contested South China Sea to challenge the Chinese Navy’s hegemony in the region which has been threatening its neighbours.
For the first time in six years, the Nimitz and the Ronald Reagan, with more than 120 aircraft deployed between them, had carried out military exercises in the South China Sea between July 4 and July 6. Last week, the United States had again deployed the two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea, “to reinforce its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, a rules based international order, and to our allies and partners in the region”.