Indo-US to hold naval war games in Bay of Bengal in April

New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) Navies of India and US will engage in Malabar series of war games in the Bay of Bengal in April. Both sides will field their major assets in the war games where they will carry out a wide spectrum of maritime manoeuvres, navy officials said here. During the last exercise of the series in the Bay of Bengal in September 2007, 25 vessels from India, US, Japan, Australia and Singapore had participated. After the event, China had reportedly expressed its displeasure over the development suspecting the grouping to be against it. The Malabar series of war games began in 1992, and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter aircraft combat operations from aircraft carriers to maritime interdiction exercises. On several occasions, the US Navy has fielded its nuclear submarines and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the exercise, which helped Indian sailors to gain valuable experience on them. PTI