Australian, Indian Navies hold maritime warfare exercises in COVIDSafe harbour phase

The yearly AUSINDEX maritime warfare exercises between the Royal Australian Navy and the Indian Navy will take place in Australia's Northern Territory. Between 5 and 13 September, the maritime warfare exercises will be conducted in Darwin. The drills will take place with a contactless COVIDSafe harbour phase followed by a sea phase in the North Australian Exercise Area.

According to the Australian Department of Defence, this is the first time AUSINDEX has been hosted in the Northern Territory. AUSINDEX 21 gives both Navies the chance to improve their cooperative defence capabilities in support of a stable and secure Indo-Pacific. Rear Admiral Mark Hammond, Commander Australian Fleet, stated that the fourth iteration of AUSINDEX will strengthen the defence connection between the two countries.

"Australia and India are comprehensive strategic partners. We share a commitment to increasing the regularity and complexity of our military training so we can be confident in our ability to work effectively to respond to the maritime security needs in our region," said Hammond. "Each time our nations come together we develop further maritime interoperability by exercising more involved warfare serials demonstrating our strong commitment to an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," he said.

Drills to be conducted by both navies 

The Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga will participate in the exercises alongside Indian Navy warships INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt, according to the statement. An Australian submarine, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, RAAF tactical fighter jets, and embarked helicopters from both navies would accompany the ships. The drill will expand on the previous navy-to-navy warfare training that took place during Phase One of Exercise MALABAR 21 off the coast of Guam, as per Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.  

"This exercise will further strengthen the bilateral partnership and interoperability with the Royal Australian Navy in the Indo-Pacific region. We are looking forward to adopting best practices from the RAN and to build on the warfare training standards achieved in Exercise MALABAR 21," he said.

MALABAR 21 held in August 2021 with Operation Turn Around

On 26 August, maritime forces from Australia, Japan, India, and the United States commenced phase one of the MALABAR 2021 cooperative maritime exercise in the Philippine Sea. MALABAR is an annual maritime exercise that strengthens the Royal Australian Navy, Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and United States Navy's planning, training, and use of advanced warfare tactics. It demonstrates the commitment of like-minded nations to uphold a rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. MALABAR21 continued till the 29th of August. Anti-surface, anti-air, and anti-submarine warfare manoeuvres, as well as other manoeuvres and tactical exercises, were held. From 21 to 24 August, the IN ships travelled from Guam, where they took part in Operation Turn Around. Eastern Naval Command Vice Adm AB Singh, AVSM, VSM, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, exchanged views with peers in the US Navy during this era. The exercise's success reflected the cooperation among the participating navies and the shared objective for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. 

Origin of AUSINDEX 

AUSINDEX has grown in complexity  since its inception in 2015. Over the Bay of Bengal, the first anti-submarine warfare drills and coordinated P-8 maritime patrol aircraft operations took place during the successful 2019 event in India. The exercise was originally held in India in 2015, with the third iteration focusing on anti-submarine warfare and including around 1,200 Australian personnel, maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, and maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. The Australian Defence Force's largest regional engagement activity, Indo-Pacific Endeavour 19, follows through on the pledge made in the 2016 Defence White Paper to strengthen Australia's involvement and alliances with regional security forces. The AUSINDEX exercise is a visible demonstration of the two nations' enhanced defence cooperation, as they continue to execute and improve the Framework for Security Cooperation created by Canberra and New Delhi in 2014. 

(With inputs from ANI)

(IMAGE: AusHCIndia - Twitter)