India, U.S., Japan, Australia to hold joint naval exercise again

A joint exercise involving the naval forces of India, the United States, Japan and Australia will be held this year again, the Indian government has said.The planned exercise, which is called Malabar, will be held in the western Pacific and is aimed at keeping China in check amid the Asian power's increasing assertiveness in regional waters.The Indian government announced the plans on Monday.Last year's drills by the four major Indo-Pacific democracies known as the Quad were held in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.Separately, India will hold bilateral exercises with Vietnam, the Phili…READ FULL ARTICLE