Eye on China: India to invite Australia for Malabar naval exercise

NEW DELHI: India plans to invite Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercise that has so far included just Japan and the US, in a move that could risk China’s ire.

The decision to include Australia in the drills — the first time all members of the regional grouping known as the Quad will be engaged at a military level — comes as Beijing and New Delhi are caught up in their worst border tensions in four decades. The exercise will bring together the navies of India, Japan, Australia and the US in the Bay of Bengal at the end of the year, according to senior Indian officials who asked not to be identified, citing rules.

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New Delhi is expected to clear the way next week for a formal invitation to Australia following final government clearance and consultations with the US and Japan, the officials said.

“The timing of India potentially letting Australia into Malabar would be especially significant at this juncture,” said Derek Grossman, researcher at the Washington-based RAND Corporation who worked in the US intelligence community for more than a decade. “It would send a significant message to China that the Quad — US, Australia, Japan, and India — are de facto conducting joint naval exercises, even if not technically c