The Indian Navy and the US Navy are to hold their regular periodic ‘Malabar’ exercise in the Bay of Bengal in September. Some 20 ships, mostly from the Indian and US navies, will take part. Vessels from Japan, Australia and Singapore are also expected to participate in this five-day exercise. This has drawn a lot of attention, especially from China and its admirers in India. They consider this a follow-up of the quadrilateral ministerial meeting held in May in Manila on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum among the foreign ministers of the US, India, Japan and Australia. Prior to this meeting, there was a demarche from Beijing expressing concern. India and Australia gave reassurances that the quadrilateral did not have any anti-Chinese connotation, and that it wasn’t directed against any country.

However, it is very difficult for people conditioned by the Cold War to see the realities of a new balance of power in which a war among the major powers armed with nuclear weapons is considered virtually impossible.

The US has a military alliance with Japan and Australia and therefore there is nothing unusual in holding such an exercise with them. India is not a military ally of any country, nor does it propose to be one. But India holds such exercises with various countries and a military exercise with China is under discussion. China recently participated in a military exercise of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries along with Russia and the Central Asian Republics. No one interpreted that as an anti-western or anti-US exercise.

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