Chennai: JS Sazanami,a Japan Maritime Self Defence Force missile destroyer and USS Princeton, a Ticonderoga class cruiser serving the United States, arrived in the Chennai Port on Sunday. They will be participating in the trilateral naval exercise Malabar-2017 commencing on Monday.
Amid reports of the presence of Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean, the navies of India, Japan and the US are deploying their largest warships in the 21st edition of the Malabar naval exercise that will kick off in the Bay of Bengal from Monday.
Malabar 2017 is the latest in a continuing series of exercises that have grown in scope and complexity over the years to address the variety of shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia Pacific region, a US embassy statement said. The exercise will see the participation of at least 20 major warships from three countries. The exercise is aimed at mastering ways to launch and sustain expeditionary forces.
The exercise will feature both on shore and at-sea training. While ashore in Chennai, training will include subject matter expert and professional exchanges on carrier strike group operations, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations, surface and anti-submarine warfare, medical operations, damage control, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), helicopter operations, and visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations.
