Any interstate defense cooperation should aim for peace and security in the region, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday, commenting on the upcoming Malabar drills by the Indian, US, Australian and Japanese navies
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2020) Any interstate defense cooperation should aim for peace and security in the region, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday, commenting on the upcoming Malabar drills by the Indian, US, Australian and Japanese navies.
"We have always believed that interstate military cooperation should be auspicious to regional peace and stability," Zhao told reporters when asked about the exercise.
The Indian government, which host the drills, said on Monday that Australia would be joining the annual naval drills for the first time since 2007. This year's edition is expected to be held in mid-November.
According to various Indian media reports, decision to include Australia in this year's exercises as an observer was made amid the ongoing confrontation between India and China in the disputed border region of Ladakh, the worst border crisis between the neighboring countries in 50 years.
The inclusion of Australia in the Malabar drills is seen by some as a possible first step towards the militarization of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as Quad � an informal strategic forum between the United States, Japan, Australia and India � which Beijing has opposed in the past.
The Malabar series was launched as bilateral India-US exercises in 1992. Japan joined the drills in 2015. Last year, the exercise was held off the coast of Japan.
