AUSINDEX 2021

• 09 Sep 2021

Why in News

Recently, India and Australia have participated in the 4^th edition of AUSINDEX Naval Exercise.

• It comes on the heels of the Malabar Naval Exercise, one of the largest wargaming exercises of India, in which all the four members of the Quad had participated - India, Australia, the US and Japan - in the last week of August.
• These exercises are a part of the two-month deployment of the Navy’s Eastern Fleet to Southeast Asia, South China Sea and the Western Pacific.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • It is a major biennial bilateral exercise, first held in India in 2015.
  • The 2021 exercise is being held in Australia.
  • It aims to consolidate shared commitment to regional and global security challenges promoting peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • It is aligned to the 2020 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations.
• Other Exercises:
  
  • Ex AUSTRA HIND (Bilateral Exercise with Army), EX PITCH BLACK (Australia’s multilateral air combat training exercise)
• Other Developments:
  
  • Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (launched by India, Japan and Australia)
  • Mutual Logistic Support Arrangement (MLSA)

Source: IE