Chennai: USS Princeton, one of the biggest ships in the US Navy, is in Chennai to participate in the 21st edition of Malabar Exercise, along with the Indian and Japanese navies, even as Chinese Navy is said to be deploying submarines in the Indian Ocean for a close watch.
A total of 16 ships, 95 aircraft and two submarines have been deployed in the Bay of Bengal to commence Malabar — 17, the trilateral annual exercise to address maritime challenges in Indo-Pacific region and to strengthen the mutual confidence between the countries. The Malabar exercise is going on amid the military standoff between armies of India and China in the Sikkim section. Beijing is also ramping up its naval presence in South China Sea.
The three naval forces have deployed their powerful maritime ships. While the USS Princeton, a Ticonderoga Class cruiser serving the US Navy, carries 70 aircraft, INS Vikaramaditya, deployed for the first time in the trilateral exercise, carries 24 aircraft.
