The navies of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) members will take part in Malabar 2023 exercises in Australia in August
Our Bureau
Hiroshima (Japan)/New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hiroshima to attend the G7 Summit on Friday and interacted with members of the Indian diaspora here. Members of the Indian diaspora in Japan gathered at a hotel in Hiroshima. They cheered “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”. They also raised slogans hailing PM Modi. Members of the Indian community said they were “extremely excited” to have Prime Minister Narendra Modi among them. The Prime Minister also interacted with the children gathered on the occasion.
“PM Narendra Modi sets foot in the historic city of Hiroshima. PM will attend the G7 Summit under Japan’s presidency at the invitation of PM Fumio Kishida. Besides other bilateral engagements, PM will also participate in the Quad Leaders’ Meeting,” tweeted Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday: “We are also planning Quad leaders meeting in Hiroshima with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, President of the US Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese, and of course our Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
This statement came after the Quad summit, scheduled to take place on May 24 in Australia, was called off. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday said that the Quad leaders meeting in Sydney next week will not go ahead after US President Joe Biden cancelled his visit to Australia.
Modi’s visit to Hiroshima is the first leg of the Prime Minister’s three-country visit. “The broad terms of the G 7 Summit preferences, in particular regarding their outreach with the invited guest countries, are one-on nuclear disarmament, two-on economic resilience and three-economic security, fourth-regional issues, fifth-climate and energy, food and health and development,” Kwatra said.
The Prime Minister will then travel to Papua New Guinea to host the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation jointly with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape on May 22. Kwatra further stated that Prime Minister will also be meeting the Prime Minister of New Zealand during his stay in Papua New Guinea. This would be the first meeting between both the Prime Minister after Chris Hipkins became the new Prime Minister of New Zealand, who was sworn in earlier in January.
On the third leg of his visit prime minister Modi will visit Sydney in Australia where he will hold a bilateral meeting with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the navies of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) members will take part in Malabar 2023 exercises in Australia in August.
The Navy official said that the navies of the US, India, Australia, and Japan will take part in Malabar 2023 exercises from August 11 to 21. This will be the fourth time that all four nations have participated in Malabar to advance the collective planning, integration and employment of advanced warfare tactics between participating nations.
Last year, Japan hosted Australia, India, US in Naval Exercise Malabar. Last year’s at-sea exercise includes a variety of high-end tactical training events, submarine integration, anti-submarine warfare training, air defense exercises, multinational replenishment-at-sea operations, communications drills, joint warfighting planning scenarios, gunnery exercise, and maritime interdiction operations, according to the statement released by US Embassy in India.
“This exercise represents an outstanding opportunity for our like-minded maritime forces to work together, demonstrating our shared commitment to the region and collaborative approach toward security and stability,” said Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, Commander Task Force 70 (CTF-70)/Carrier Strike Group Five (CSG 5).
“Now, it is more important than ever for the forward-deployed Carrier Strike Group to work closely with other maritime forces and deter all who challenge a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he added.
Last year, Indian Navy surface units participating include a Shivalik-class FFG, Kamorta-ClassCorvette, a P-8I aircraft, and Marine Commandos (MARCOS) personnel. “Participation in high-end maritime exercises, such as Exercise Malabar, demonstrates Australia’s commitment to working with strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Rear Admiral Jonathan Earley, CSC, RAN, Commander of the Australian Fleet.
“This exercise contributes to regional security by deepening professional relationships among India, Japan and the United States to build interoperability in the maritime domain,” Earley added, according to the official release.
