U.S., Indian, Japanese Navies Participate in Maritime Exercise in Guam
USS Benfold (DDG 65) arrived in Guam for a port visit prior to the Malabar 2018 kick-off of exercise. (Credit: U.S. 7th Fleet, Twitter)
Naval ships, aircraft and personnel from India, Japan and the United States participated in an exercise called Malabar 2018 held in June off the coast of Guam. Malabar 2018 was the first time the exercise has been conducted off the coast of Guam, and the latest in a continuing series of exercises that has grown in scope and complexity over the years to address the variety of shared threats to maritime security.
The exercise featured both ashore and at-sea training off the coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea. Training focused on high-end warfighting skillsets, subject matter expert and professional exchanges, combined carrier strike group operations, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations, surface and anti-submarine warfare, medical operations, damage control, helicopter operations and visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations.
Indian, Japanese and U.S. maritime forces worked together to build upon and advance their working relationship. Each iteration of the exercise helps increase the level of understanding between sailors and interoperability between the three navies. For a list of participating Indian forces, please refer to the Indian Navy Headquarters. For a list of participating Japanese forces, please refer to the Japan Maritime Staff Office. —U.S. 7th Fleet