Tokyo: Ahead of the commencement of the 2022 edition of Exercise MALABAR, marking the 30th anniversary of the engagement, Indian Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar met Navy Chiefs of the Royal Australian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force and US Navy where the leaders exchanged views on further enhancing inter-operability in future editions of MALABAR.

Indian Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar is visiting Japan from November 5-9 where he will witness the Japanese international fleet review and also attend the inauguration of multilateral naval drills Malabar being held there in its 30th year.

During the visit, as one of the Observer Navies in the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), the CNS will attend the 18th WPNS on November 7-8 at Yokohama, being hosted by Japan, as the current Chair of WPNS.

In addition to representing India and the Indian Navy during the International Fleet Review (IFR) and Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), he will also be in attendance for the inauguration of the 2022 edition of Exercise MALABAR, being held at Yokosuka with the participation of Australia, Japan and the USA.

Initiated in 1992, this year marks the 30th anniversary year of Exercise MALABAR.

Admiral R Hari Kumar would also be interacting with his counterparts and other Heads of Delegations from close to 30 countries participating in the IFR, WPNS, and MALABAR.

Indian Naval Ships Shivalik and Kamorta also arrived at Yokosuka, Japan on November 2 to participate in the IFR and Exercise MALABAR-2022.

The presence of these indigenously built ships of the Indian Navy at these multi-national events will be an opportunity to showcase the ship-building capabilities of Indian Shipyards during a large international gathering.

The visit of the CNS to Japan signifies a high level of bilateral defence engagements with Japan, as well as India's active support and participation in multilateral engagements.