India, US conduct naval exercise in Arabian Sea

NEW DELHI: Amid the continuing tariff tensions between India and US, the armed forces of the two countries continue to undertake the flurry of joint combat exercises that have been the norm over the last two decades.

In the latest such endeavour, Indian guided-missile destroyer INS Imphal conducted an exercise with US Arleigh-Burke class destroyer USS Gridley in the Arabian Sea on Monday.

“The exercise included tactical manoeuvres, cross-deck flying, anti-piracy VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) training and sharing of best practices and procedures towards enhancing interoperability. It underscores the endeavours to strengthen maritime cooperation between the two nations,” Navy spokesperson Captain Vivek Madhwal said on Tuesday.

It comes soon after over 450 Indian soldiers engaged in high-altitude combat drills with their US counterparts in the major `Yudh Abhyas’ exercise at Fort Wainwright in Alaska from Sept 1 to 14.

Moreover, India, the US, Australia and Japan are also planning to conduct the major Malabar naval exercise off Guam in the Western Pacific in Nov. The Malabar began as a bilateral India-US exercise in 1992 but includes all “Quad” countries now, with China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific figuring high on their radar screens.