Indo-US wargame in the Indian Ocean to counter 'Chinese threat'

New Delhi: Front line warships of the Indian Navy exercised with the USA’s Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in the Indian Ocean last week, in yet another signal of a strategic bonhomie between the two nations amidst Chinese muscle flexing in the region.

The war game – details of which was shared by the US Embassy here on Monday – took place soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return from Russia and on a day when the National Security Advisor had a discussion with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan.

“The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group operated alongside forces from the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean, July 12. The joint maritime activity advances interoperability between the two major defence partners and underscores their shared commitment to upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the Embassy said in a statement.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt is a Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered, aircraft carrier, which is the lead ship in a carrier battle group or carrier strike group-a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier and other warships.

For the exercise with India, the aircraft carrier was accompanied by Carrier Air Wing 11 (onboard fighter jets) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Daniel Inouye. The Indian Navy was represented by the guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam and replenishment ship INS Aditya.

“The US and Indian military forces focused on improving shared maritime domain awareness and information sharing; enhancing replenishment and logistics interoperability; and improving combined air-to-air capabilities,” the statement said.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt is currently operating with Carrier Strike Group-9 after conducting this joint maritime activity in the 7th Fleet area of operations. The 7th Fleet is the US Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet that routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

The Indo-US naval wargame comes a few months ahead of the Malabar series of naval exercises in October in the Bay of Bengal involving Quad nations.

The Malabar exercises began as a bilateral naval drill between India and USA, but gradually increased its scope to incorporate Japan and Australia and emerged as one of the key naval activities in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The Indian Navy routinely participates alongside US Navy units in multilateral exercises across the Pacific, including Southwest Asia and littoral Africa. In addition to the group sail, the Indian Navy is also operating in leadership roles with the US Navy and other allies and partners in the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 exercise in Hawaii,” the US Embassy said.