The Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian Navy and the US Navy in the Indian Ocean. (Source: Indian Navy)
China on Tuesday said it has “taken note” of India's announcement that Australia will join the annual Malabar naval exercises along with the US and Japan, underlining that military cooperation should be “conducive” to regional peace and stability.
India on Monday announced that Australia will join the upcoming Malabar exercise which effectively means that all the four-member countries of the ‘Quad' or Quadrilateral coalition will be participating in the mega drill.
The US and Japan are the other countries that participate in the annual exercise, which is likely to take place next month in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
Commenting on the announcement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here that China has “taken note of this development.”
“We always believe that military cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace and stability,” he said in a brief reaction.
India's decision to heed to Australia's request to be part of the mega naval drill comes in the midst of growing strain in ties with China over the border row in eastern…
