What is the Malabar naval exercise?
The Malabar naval exercise is like mock battle involving practice sessions of naval ships, vessels, submarines, etc. It started in 1992 as an annual bilateral exercise between India and US, while Japan was permanently added in 2015, making it a trilateral exercise. The 21st edition of the naval exercise will see participation of 16 ships, 95 aircraft and two submarines.
Malabar Exercise 2017 has come at a time when India-China relations are going through a strained phase after the Dokhlam stand-off. The annual trilateral naval exercise between India, Japan and the US is being seen as a threat by the Chinese authorities. China's increasing closeness with Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also a cause of worry for India. Thus, Malabar 2017 will prove to be a concrete step towards increasing India's presence in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. Dozens of sea vessels, submarines and warships will work together to bring the three powerful navies together for possible joint patrolling and naval missions in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.  Indian Navy's official spokersperson's Twitter account has posted videos of preparations a day before the Malabar exercise was supposed to kick-off. Watch the videos below: #Malabar2017 Flying operations from INS Vikramaditya @SpokespersonMoD@PIB_India@airnewsalerts@DDNewsLive@PMOIndiapic.twitter.com/TI8LkElb8T#Malabar2017 Flying operations from INS Vikramaditya @SpokespersonMoD@PIB_India@airnewsalerts@DDNewsLive@PMOIndiapic.twitter.com/nOYTGwu169#Malabar2017 VAdm HCS Bisht having a close look at the Flying operations from INS Vikramaditya @SpokespersonMoD@PIB_India@airnewsalertspic.twitter.com/8LhNL0R5z5Also read : 