QUAD + 2 naval exercises Coming

 

Quad, France and UAE join hands in 2 naval exercises to dominate Indo-Pacific

• French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and finance minister Bruno Le Maire will be in Delhi next month while IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria will be in France. At least 8 Rafale fighters will leave for India through mid-air refuelling by UAE between April 19 and April 23.

The Indian Navy, its partners in the QUAD grouping, and, its strategic allies France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be part of complex interoperability exercises involving carrier strike groups, anti-submarine warfare aircraft and attack submarines in April– a move aimed at projecting their dominance from the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Straits.

Analysts say Indo-French naval cooperation will further deepen when French navy ships pay a visit to Kochi port in March. 

 

The UAE will be joining India and France for the first time in a trilateral naval exercise in the strategically important Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in late April under the Varuna banner. This is scheduled between April 25 and 27.

While dates of the QUAD-plus France naval exercise has to be firmed up on paper, India, the US, Australia, and Japan (the members of QUAD), with France will showcase their naval strength and commitment to freedom of navigation in the Bay of Bengal from April 4 to 7 with missile-guided destroyers, frigates, submarines and surveillance aircraft practising complex manoeuvres under the La Perouse banner.

Both La Perouse and Varuna last took place in 2019, but were cancelled due to global pandemic last year. UAE’s naval chief confirmed his country’s participation in the Varuna trilateral exercises.