What the US gained from naval wargames

The multi-nation Malabar exercise has helped the United States Navy to develop an excellent understanding with other countries, including India, a US official participating in the naval wargames said on Saturday.

One of the key elements of the exercise is to increase interoperability among the five participating nations -- India, US, Australia, Singapore and Japan -- Commanding Officer of USS Princeton Captain Dave Melin said.

"By conducting the boarding exercise, we were able to team up with our Indian and Australian counterparts and get some excellent training and an excellent understanding of each other," Melin was quoted as saying by the official website of Seventh Fleet of the US Navy.

On the concluding day on Saturday, sailors aboard the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton conducted Visit, Board, Search and Seizure exercises with their Indian, Japanese and Australian counterparts in the Bay of Bengal.

The ships participating in the exercise were broken up into three different Surface Action Groups, each with their own responsibilities and geographic locations, as the navies trained for different operational situations.

Princeton, as part of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, acted as the SAG Charlie command ship during Malabar, which also included Australian auxiliary tanker HMAS Sirius, the Indian frigate INS Gomati, the Japanese destroyer Ohnami and USS Chafee.

As part of the exercise, Princetons team and six sailors from INS Gomati conducted an exercise boarding on the Australian tanker Sirius.

While on board, sailors from the three nations conducted Visit, Board, Search and Seizure missions similar to real-life compliant ship situations.

During the exercise, which started on September 4, Princeton also welcomed two cross-decking foreign liaison officers -- Cmdr Takeshi Yoshioka from Japan and Lt Cmdr Maheesh from INS Gomati.