NEW DELHI: As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the capital on Saturday for the BRICS summit, his first visit to India in seven years, the Indian military is simultaneously engaged with all three other members of the Quad, with the US Army exercising alongside Indian troops, Japanese fighters operating from Jodhpur and Navy chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan holding talks in Australia before travelling to New Zealand.
The convergence comes at a politically sensitive moment in India-China ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi began bilateral meetings with visiting BRICS leaders on Friday, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, while a meeting between Modi and Xi is being arranged on the margins of the summit on Saturday. The two leaders are expected to review the progress in bilateral ties following the disengagement of troops from several friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
It also comes against the backdrop of Beijing’s repeated criticism of the Quad. Chinese officials have described the grouping as an “anti-China front line” and “mini NATO”, accusing it of pursuing bloc confrontation, while the four members maintain that the Quad is not a military alliance.
The 22nd edition of Yudh Abhyas with the US Army began on Wednesday and will continue till the end of this month. For the first time, the exercise is being conducted across two theatres, with the contingents training at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges near Bikaner before moving to Auli in Uttarakhand, roughly 95 km from the LAC.
The exercise has expanded well beyond its original peacekeeping orientation to include long-range fires, high-altitude operations, air mobility, logistics and counter-unmanned aerial systems.
The IAF and Japan Air Self-Defence Force also began Exercise Veer Guardian-26 at Jodhpur on Wednesday. The two- week day exercise features Japanese F-2A fighters alongside IAF Tejas, Su-30MKI and Rafale aircraft, with the two sides undertaking advanced operational missions and professional exchanges. As reported earlier, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh and his Japanese counterpart General Takehiro Morita are both expected at the base during the drill, and are likely to fly sorties.
Furthermore, Adm Swaminathan’s Australia visit, which began also began on Wednesday, is focused on operational interaction, interoperability, information-sharing, training and professional exchanges with the Royal Australian Navy and Australian defence leadership. He will subsequently engage New Zealand’s defence leadership.
India and Australia have a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and conduct AUSINDEX, while Australia has participated in Malabar with India, the US and Japan since 2020.
The maritime engagement assumes greater significance as the People’s Liberation Army Navy expands its operations beyond China’s near seas. Chinese warships, submarines and survey vessels have become a persistent presence in the Indian Ocean, while Beijing’s military base at Djibouti provides a foothold for sustained operations in the western Indian Ocean.
Subsequently, India has sought to build a wider maritime picture through mission-based deployments and information-sharing with partner countries. The Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region at Gurugram hosts liaison officers from several partner navies and is intended to improve maritime-domain awareness and the exchange of operational information.
