IFR ends; Malabar naval exercise gets under way in Japan

Pakistan and South Korea were also part of IFR while China joined the WPNS

Amid the recent missile tests by North Korea and the continuing war in Ukraine, the Malabar multilateral naval exercise involving India, Australia, Japan and U.S. got under way on Tuesday as the International Fleet Review (IFR) and the 18th Western Naval Pacific Symposium (WPNS), also hosted by Japan, concluded. Pakistan and South Korea also participated in the IFR and the WPNS while China, which declined invitation for IFR, participated in the WPNS. 

An earlier invitation extended to Russia was cancelled by Japan due to the Ukraine war. In all, the IFR held on Sunday saw the participation of 13 countries while the WPNS on Monday and Tuesday had the presence of 27 countries.

“Held IFR-2022 with the participation of naval vessels and aircraft from 13 countries. We will contribute to realise a ‘free and open ocean’ through confidence-building and friendship with the navies of the WPNS member-countries,” the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) said.

The JMSDF which hosted the IFR to commemorate its 70th anniversary also conducted a multilateral search and rescue exercise with the participating navies which, it said, was to improve the JMSDF’s tactical capabilities and to promote mutual understanding with the participating navies.

In the past, India, China and Pakistan have taken part in Army exercises conducted by Russia or under the ambit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). While China is a full member of the WPNS, India and Pakistan are observers. 

In the past, India could not attend the WPNS due to delay in approval from the Defence Ministry. In early 2020, Philippines had hosted the WPNS workshop 2020 for which India was invited but the Defence Ministry did not approve the participation in time.

South Korea’s participation is a sign of warming ties with Japan, which saw lot of friction a few years back, amid repeated missile tests and provocation by North Korea. In 2018, Japan refused to join a fleet review by South Korea after Tokyo was asked not to fly its flag showing the rising sun, and in 2019 Tokyo refused to invite South Korea to a planned fleet review, which was eventually cancelled, due to a maritime incident.