By IANS
New Delhi : Warships from five nations, with the major component being from India and the US, Tuesday began war games in the Bay of Bengal that are aimed at improving inter-operability between their navies, even as the communist parties staged demonstrations against the drill.
Malabar-2007, as the Sep 4-9 exercise is named, features 25 vessels participating in a variety of manoeuvres.
These include interception and dissimilar air combat exercises, surface and anti-submarine warfare, maritime interdiction and VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) operations to counter piracy and terrorist acts at sea.
The Malabar series is now in its 13th year. The drill has previously been a bilateral India-US engagement and has been expanded for the first time to also include Japan, Australia and Singapore.
Given the vast scope of the war games, the operational area of Malabar-2007 stretches from Visakhapatnam on the eastern seaboard to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that guard the approaches to the Strait of Malacca, considered the world’s busiest waterway.
The US Navy has the largest representation at Malabar-2007 with 13 warships, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz that generated much heat when it dropped anchor off Chennai in July.
The other vessels include the conventionally powered carrier USS Kitty Hawk, the nuclear submarine USS Chicago, two guided-missile cruisers, and six guided-missile destroyers.
Seven warships, including the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, are representing the Indian Navy. Viraat’s Sea Harrier jets and Sea King helicopters, and the Indian Air Force’s Jaguar deep-penetration strike aircraft will also be seen in action.
Australia has sent a frigate and a tanker, Japan has sent two destroyers and Singapore has sent a frigate for the drill.
Just as the war games began, veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) veteran Jyoti Basu flagged off a protest march from Kolkata, attacking the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for its “tilt” towards the US.
“The UPA government is trying to turn the country into the American fold which is against the common minimum programme on the basis of which the Left is extending support (to the government),” Basu told party workers.
“This is against the country’s independent foreign policy,” the nonagenarian leader added.
CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat and his Communist Party of India (CPI) counterpart A.B. Bardhan would lead processions against the drill from Kolkata and Chennai respectively that would converge at Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
New Delhi has repeatedly sought to allay apprehensions that the drill had military overtones.
“There is no military alignment. It’s only an exercise,” Defence Minister A.K. Antony has said of Malabar-2007.
“Our armed forces exercise with most of the important countries. Every year this is expanding…India’s importance is growing. Almost all countries want to engage with us. It’s a good thing. It’s a recognition of India’s prestige and reliability,” the minister maintained.
China, which has not officially commented on the drill, is known to be unhappy over the event as it is being conducted in the Bay of Bengal for the first time. China has been cultivating naval cooperation with Bangladesh and Myanmar to gain access to the Bay of Bengal. China has also been strengthening military cooperation with Sri Lanka.
Given the Left opposition, the Indian government was at one time known to have considered postponing or even cancelling the drill but the Indian Navy put its foot down, saying the logistics involved made any delay impossible.