DTN News - MALABAR 2012: Delhi Scales Down US War Games - Air force Request To Join Exercise With American Navy Turned Down
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 29, 2012: The Centre recently turned down an air force request to participate in the war games with the US navy in the Bay of Bengal that concluded last week.
The seven-day Malabar 2012 exercise involved the American and Indian navies.
The Centre’s move followed a quiet policy decision in the defence ministry to scale down — but not stop — the friendly military engagements with the US armed forces, which have gathered pace and increased in complexity over the past decade.
The defence ministry is wary of the “hype” that the US builds around joint military exercises with India.
Among the most important of the war games that the Indian and US forces conduct is the Malabar series involving the two navies. An air force component is integral to the exercises because the US deploys a carrier battle group.
The Malabar exercise in 2007 in the Bay of Bengal involved the armed forces of five countries and was easily the largest international war games that India has hosted. The exercise involved three aircraft carriers and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
That drill irritated the Chinese so much that Beijing asked New Delhi if it was forging a military alliance against it.
