China takes note of Australia joining Malabar naval exercise

China on Tuesday said it has “taken note” of the fact that Australia will be joining the Malabar naval exercises and stressed that Beijing believes military cooperation should be “conducive” to regional peace and stability, news agency PTI reported. India’s announcement of the Australian participation had come amid the country’s LAC standoff with China.

The United States and Japan – the remaining members of the “quad” apart from India and Australia – will also participate in the annual high-level Malabar naval exercises. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said in the Second Quad Ministerial Meeting that the alliance could be a “fabric” to counter the Chinese threat.

The Ministry of Defence had held a key meeting in August to discuss Australia’s participation in the exercise but no final decision had been made, according to a media report. India had said in June that it was open to Australia’s inclusion in Malabar. Australia took part in the exercise in 2007, but it drew a stern response from China, according to the newspaper.

The Malabar exercises began in 1992 as a bilateral drill between India and the US. Japan joined the exercise in 2015. The annual exercise was held off the coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea in 2018 and off the coast of Japan in 2019. This year, it will be held in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal in November.

WITH AGENCY INPUTS