The four-nation maritime exercise known as Exercise Malabar has entered its twenty-ninth edition, bringing together naval forces from India, United States, Japan and Australia in and around the island of Guam from 10-18 November 2025. Hosted by the U.S. Navy, the exercise underscores the growing maritime cooperation between these Indo-Pacific partners.

Originally launched in 1992 as a bilateral effort between the Indian Navy and the U.S. Navy off India’s Malabar Coast, the exercise has since expanded to include Japan (as full member in 2015) and Australia (from 2020) and is now recognised as a multilateral effort to enhance combined maritime security.

The harbour phase, from 10-12 November, introduced operational planning, cross-deck visits and communication alignment; the sea phase, from 13-17 November, moves into advanced joint fleet manoeuvres, anti-submarine warfare, gunnery, air-defence operations and replenishment at sea.

Participating platforms include the Australian Navy’s ANZAC-class frigate HMAS Ballarat (FFH 155) and a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft operating from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam; India’s Navy’s Shivalik-class guided-missile stealth frigate INS Sahyadri (F49); Japan’s Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer JS Hyūga (DDH 181); and the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) along with a U.S. submarine, a P-8A Poseidon aircraft and an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit.

Australian officials emphasise the importance of the exercise in bolstering readiness and interoperability across the Indo-Pacific.

Vice Admiral Justin Jones AO, CSC, Chief of Joint Operations for the Royal Australian Navy, noted that “through Exercise Malabar, Australia and our partner nations are strengthening Indo-Pacific security by tackling shared challenges, coordinating collective strength and closing gaps in global engagement.” Commander Dean Uren, commanding officer of HMAS Ballarat, added that his crew looked forward to training alongside “our advanced and professional peers.”

For India, the deployment of INS Sahyadri reflects its commitment to enhanced regional maritime reach and self-reliant naval capability.

The United States, through its U.S. 7th Fleet—its largest forward-deployed numbered fleet—underscored its continued engagement across the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific.

While the exercise is strictly portrayed as enhancing interoperability and maritime security, it takes place amid wider strategic competition in the region, where the participating nations view a stable maritime order as increasingly vital.

The rotation of the exercise’s leadership and venue — this year under the United States — signals a commitment to shared burden and sustained partnership.

As the sea phase approaches, participating forces will test their integration, readiness and cooperative tactics under complex manoeuvres in one of the region’s most dynamic maritime theatres.