For the third straight year, warships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) will join those of the Indian Navy and the U.S. Navy in the annual Exercise Malabar naval drill, which today is aimed at curtailing China's expansion into the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific.

Exercise Malabar-2017 will take place in the Bay of Bengal. No dates have been agreed upon, but the Indian Navy said a planning conference will be held in the United States in the next few months to firm-up the exercise and identify the warships that will take part.

First held in 1992 with the joint participation of the Indian Navy and the U.S. Navy, Exercise Malabar includes diverse naval warfare activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.

Exercise Malabar-2017 is designed to enhance dynamic cooperation between Indian Navy, JMSDF and the U.S. Navy in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. It allows for practical training, while exchanging skills and cultures, and helps to increase the understanding of joint multinational naval operations.

Navies from other Asian natiions such as Singapore and Australia have also been invited to participate in Exercise Malabar.

Exercise Malabar-2015, the first with Japan's participation, was held in October 2015 off Chennai while Exercise Malabar-2016 was held in June at the Philippine Sea. The JMSDF sent a single warship, the Akizuki-class destroyer JS Fuyuzuki (DD-118), to Exercise Malabar-2015.

The Indian Navy was represented at Exercise Malabar-2015 by INS Sindhuraj (S57), a Sindhughosh-class diesel-electric submarine; INS Ranvijay (D55), a Rajput-class guided missile destroyer; INS Shivalik (F47), a stealth multi-role frigate and the first of her kind in the Indian Navy; INS Betwa (F39), a Brahmaputra-class guided missile frigate and INS Shakti (A57), a Deepak-class fleet tanker.

The U.S. Navy sent the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71); USS Normandy (CG-60), a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser; USS Fort Worth (LCS-3), a Freedom-class littoral combat ship and USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN-705), a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine.

Among the U.S. Navy warships at Exercise Malabar-2016 were the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74); USS Mobile Bay (CG-53), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser and USS Stockdale (DDG-106) and USS Chung Hoon (DDG-93), both Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers.

The JMSDF warships at Exercise Malabar-2016 were led by the JS Hyūga (DDH-181), lead ship of the Hyūga-class of helicopter destroyers.

The Indian Navy was represented at Exercise Malabar-2016 by INS Sahyadri (F49), a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate; INS Satpura (F48), a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate; INS Kirch (P62), a Kora-class guided missile corvette and INS Shakti (A57), a Deepak-class fleet tanker.