Qwickly

The navies of the United States, Australia, India, Japan and Singapore have begun a massive naval exercise, codenamed “Malabar”, in the Bay of Bengal.

Thirty-four ships and submarines from the five countries have joined the six-day exercise, about 100 nautical miles off the Andaman archipelago.

Some analysts say the war games are an attempt by these countries to contain China’s growing power. The participants deny this, but Beijing has expressed its concerns.

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

“This will perhaps be the biggest ever peace-time joint naval exercise in Asia,” Indian navy spokesman Captain Vinay Garg said.

Date: September 3, 2007
Article: Five-nation naval exercise begins
Reference: News Post