Why Is India Excluding Australia From Naval Drills?

A closer look at the reasons for New Delhi’s stance on the Malabar exercises



by Jeff M. Smith



Over the past quarter-century, the Malabar naval exercises have blossomed from a relatively mundane, low-level Indo-U.S. naval drill into a robust demonstration of geopolitical force joining the Indo-Pacific’s three most powerful democracies. The history and significance of Malabar, which