Asia-Pacific
Malabar 2026: U.S., India, Japan and Australia open the 30th edition of the naval exercise at Yokosuka
The U.S. Navy, Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Navy have begun the 30th Malabar exercise near Yokosuka, with a P-8A and two U.S. amphibious ships taking part.
The navies of the United States, India, Japan and Australia opened the 30th edition of Exercise Malabar on November 5 with a ceremony at Funakoshi, near Yokosuka in Japan, according to the U.S. 7th Fleet. At-shore and at-sea training will follow in the waters around Yokosuka.
Malabar 2026 is a combined field training exercise involving the Indian Navy, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force and the U.S. Navy. The 7th Fleet describes it as a multi-domain event meant to build interoperability and to practise detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air and in cyberspace.
Who is taking part
The opening ceremony brought together senior officers from all four countries, among them Rear Adm. Anita Williams, Commander Australian Fleet, Indian Navy Vice Adm. A.N. Pramod, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Pat Hannifin and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Commander in Chief, Self Defense Fleet, Vice Adm. Omachi Katsushi, who met at the Yokosuka naval base.
The 7th Fleet lists a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and two San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks, USS Anchorage (LPD 23) and USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), among the U.S. Navy contributions. The sea phase is scheduled to include combined training in the surface, sub-surface, air and information domains.
From a bilateral drill to a four-nation exercise
Hannifin used the ceremony to recall the exercise’s origins. “What began in 1992 as a modest bilateral event between the United States and India has matured over three decades into a premier, quadrilateral exercise,” he said, adding that the growth builds interoperability to reinforce a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
Japan and Australia joined the original two partners as the exercise grew in scope and complexity. The 7th Fleet says the 30th anniversary edition is the sixth time that all four nations have taken part together.
In its statement the fleet says Malabar 2026 demonstrates a shared commitment to the rule of law and freedom of navigation and is intended to deter aggressors. The statement does not name any specific country or scenario.
Context
The U.S. Navy has been active in several parts of the Indo-Pacific this week. Earlier in the week it opened a separate bilateral event with Bangladesh, covered in our report U.S. Navy and Bangladesh Navy open CARAT Bangladesh 2026 with mine countermeasures ship USS Warrior and a P-8A. Details of the Malabar sea-phase schedule, including its end date and the full list of participating ships from India, Japan and Australia, were not given in the 7th Fleet release.
