India, U.S and Japan flex their Naval Muscles in the Pacific

The 22nd edition of the Malabar exercise has kicked off on June 7 and will finish on June 16 2018.

This naval exercise will take place off the coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea and will witness war ships, aircrafts and personnel from the three countries participating in it, namely: India, United States and Japan.
This trilateral naval exercise is of paramount significance given the recent tensions in the Pacific region because of China’s increased activities of building artificial islands in the South China Sea and deploying submarines into the Indian Ocean.
China's "String of Pearls" strategy to counter India in the waters is well known and poses a security risk to India's security in the waters ranging from The Bay of Bengal to the Indian Ocean to the Arabian Sea.
Also the continuous rightful opposition of many nations including the three participating nations in the Malabar exercise to China's claim in the South China Sea, makes this exercise very crucial.
This exercise will also add momentum to another initiative of the U.S from the past that the U.S calls: "Contain China Policy".
The thing that brings special glory to India from this naval exercise is the fact that this is the first exercise since the US renamed its Hawaii-based Pacific command to as the Indo-Pacific Command.
According to Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, this 22nd edition of the Malabar exercise will be performed with an aim to deal with threats and challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

The presence of following Indian Naval Ships will be seen in the exercise:

Also this exercise will witness the first overseas deployment of The Indian Navy's P 8I Surveillance and Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft.