India-US-Japan joint military exercises:

India’s growing engagement in the US imperialist strategy in the region

India, Japan and the US began the 21st edition of their 5-day joint trilateral maritime Malabar naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal, on July 10. As many as 95 aircraft, 16 ships and two submarines, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the American USS Nimitz, are reported to have participated in these exercises, which included on-shore as well as at-sea military exercises.

The on-shore exercises are reported to have included professional exchanges on carrier strike group operations, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations, surface and anti-submarine warfare, medical operations, damage control, explosive ordinance disposal and helicopter operations.

The at-sea exercises are reported to have included events such as submarine familiarisation, air defence exercises, medical evacuation drills, surface warfare exercises, communication exercises and search and rescue operations.

The official press release on the occasion stated the aim of these maritime exercises as “achieving deeper military ties between the three nations” and “enhancing maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region”.

The Malabar exercises, which began in 1994 as a bilateral with the Indian and US navies, have now been institutionalized. They have been progressively expanded in scope to include other countries of the region. In 2007, three other countries – Japan, Australia and Singapore – joined the Malabar exercises.

The Malabar exercises and India’s participation in them have to be seen as part of the strategy of the US imperialists for the Indo-Pacific region, i.e. the whole of Asia as well as countries of the east coast of Africa. US imperialism is trying to establish its uncontested domination over Asia. Towards this end, it is trying to embroil the countries and peoples of Asia in fratricidal wars against each other. It is egging on the Indian ruling class to go to war against China, Pakistan and other countries of this region. The Indian big monopoly bourgeoisie, intoxicated by the thought of expanding its markets and spheres of influence in collaboration with the US, is rushing headlong into a dangerous course of military collaboration with the US, threatening to drag our people into a disastrous war.

The US wants India to be an active participant in its plans to encircle China. It is offering to provide India sophisticated arms and military training to challenge China. The biggest US arms manufacturing companies are planning to set up a military industrial complex for the production of sophisticated weapons in India in collaboration with the biggest Indian monopolies, on condition that the Indian state guarantees the purchase of these weapons. The biggest monopolies controlling the Indian state are rushing to set up joint ventures in India, in collaboration with top US armaments producers.

The Malabar joint military exercises are a part of the strengthening of the strategic military alliance of the Indian ruling class with the US imperialists. The Indo US military strategic alliance is directed against the freedom and sovereignty of India and all countries and peoples of Asia. This is an extremely dangerous alliance which poses a grave threat to peace and security in the region. The patriotic and peace loving people of India must vigorously oppose these dangerous plans of the Indian ruling class.

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