The biggest-ever armada of warships including Indian vessels and nuclear submarines from the US and Australia will be in action off the Bay of Bengal in early September for some complex multi-nation sea war games.
The navies of India, the US, Australia, Japan and Singapore will take part in the exercise which will witness nuclear powered aircraft carriers, advanced air early warning planes and fighters display their prowess. This will be biggest assembly of fighting sea machines in the area, since the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict.
While US, Japan and India have held similar exercises off the Japanese coast last winter, this is the first time that the Australian Navy would be taking part in such manouveres.
Aware that the assembly of such a large flotilla could raise eyebrows in the immediate neighbourhood, the war game planners have said the holding of exercise in no manner could be taken as setting up of a" front against anybody".
"There is no movement of setting up of a Quadrilateral force or front against anybody," said Rear Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, Assistant Chief of the Naval staff.
{{/usCountry}}"There is no movement of setting up of a Quadrilateral force or front against anybody," said Rear Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, Assistant Chief of the Naval staff.
{{/usCountry}}Briefing newsmen on the scope and nature of the exercises, Chauhan made it clear that Indian policy was not not to join any " front or force" making it clear that Indian Navy was only" India-centric".
Similar exercises in the Sea of Japan had earlier evoked sharp reaction from the Chinese media.