Quad navies wrap up Malabar 2026, closing a week of anti-submarine and boarding drills off Japan

Exercise Malabar 2026, the annual naval drill that brings together India, Japan, the United States and Australia, has ended. India's Defence Ministry said on 13 November that its frigate INS Sahyadri left Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan the previous day, following the conclusion of the exercise.

According to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, as cited by IANS, the exercise ran from 5 to 12 November in waters south of the Kanto region of Honshu. Japan committed the helicopter destroyer JS Ise, the frigate JS Mogami, a submarine and a P-1 maritime patrol aircraft. India sent Sahyadri, a Shivalik-class guided-missile stealth frigate from its Eastern Fleet, while Australia contributed the frigate HMAS Stuart and a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft.

A photograph released by US Pacific Fleet shows the American contribution at sea. Taken on 7 November in the Western Pacific, it shows Sahyadri, Ise, Mogami and Stuart sailing in formation with two San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks, USS Anchorage and USS John P. Murtha. The fleet's caption describes Malabar 26 as a combined field training exercise intended to strengthen regional partnerships and interoperability while carrying out complex warfighting operations.

India's statement said the sea phase covered anti-submarine warfare, visit, board, search and seizure drills, maritime interdiction operations, gunnery exercises, replenishment approaches and cross-deck landings. It said these serials improved interoperability, operational coordination and mutual understanding among the four navies. Before the ships sailed, the harbour phase at Yokosuka included operational synchronisation, cross-deck visits, sporting fixtures and cultural events.

The ministry did not publish the number of personnel involved or any assessment of how individual serials went, and the accounts available did not name the Japanese submarine that took part. India presented the result as a reaffirmation of the participating navies' shared commitment to maritime cooperation and collective security in the Indo-Pacific, linking it to its MAHASAGAR policy, which stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

The frigate's deployment also carried a diplomatic message. IANS reported that Sahyadri arrived at Yokosuka on 4 November to a ceremonial welcome from the Japanese navy, having sailed straight from a bilateral exercise with the South Korean navy at Busan. On 6 November, India's ambassador to Japan, Nagma Mallick, and Vice Admiral A N Pramod, the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, hosted a deck reception on board to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.

Sahyadri is a Malabar regular. IANS noted that the same ship took part in last year's edition, which ran from 10 to 18 November and held its harbour phase in Guam. This year the exercise returned to Japanese waters, with the Japanese navy fielding both surface ships and a submarine and while maritime patrol aircraft from Japan and Australia flew alongside the warships.