Quad Naval Exercise MALABAR 2025

Current Context: The Quad Naval Exercise MALABAR 2025 was held in Guam, USA, from 10–18 November 2025 with participation from the navies of India, USA, Japan, and Australia.

• The exercise had two phases – a Harbour Phase for planning, communication drills, and familiarisation, followed by a Sea Phase with high-tempo operations.
• Major activities included anti-submarine warfare, gunnery firing, VBSS (Visit Board Search & Seizure), underway replenishment, and cross-deck helicopter operations.
• India was represented by INS Sahyadri, while Australia deployed HMAS Ballarat.
• The exercise showcased strong interoperability among Quad navies and reinforced their commitment to Indo-Pacific maritime security.
• MALABAR, which began in 1992 as a bilateral India–US drill, has evolved into a full Quad exercise since 2020.

Question:

Q.1 Which group of countries participated in MALABAR 2025?
a) India, USA, UK, Australia
b) India, Japan, South Korea, Australia
c) India, USA, Japan, Australia
d) India, France, Australia, Indonesia

Answer: c) MALABAR is a Quad exercise, so the four participating navies were India, US, Japan, and Australia.