Sea Dragon to deter Dragon
Multinational Maritime exercise near Guam to deter Chinese aggression
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New Delhi, Jan 07: Amid rising tensions with China on Himalayan borders India has participated in a military exercise along with Japan and South Korea. This military exercise is called Sea Dragon. This has come at a time when China’s psychological warfare department posted a photo of Chinese soldiers claiming to be at Galwan. China also renamed a few places in India’s state of Arunachal Pradesh, calling it China’s South Tibet.
India and its partners in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad along with Canada and South Korea are participating in the multinational exercise Sea Dragon at Guam in the Western Pacific.
The exercise, primarily focused on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training, will involve more than 270 hours of in-flight training and activities ranging from tracking simulated targets to tracking a US Navy submarine. Each event will be graded and the country scoring the highest points will receive the Dragon Belt award.
The wargame, being held at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, includes contingents from the Indian Navy, the US Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force and the South Korean Navy.
“As [officer-in-charge], I am eager for the opportunity to further develop our partnerships with Australia, Canada, India, Japan, and Korea while at Sea Dragon 2022,” said Lt Cmdr Braz Kennedy, officer-in-charge of the US detachment from Patrol Squadron 47.
U.S. Navy joins Australia, Canada, India, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Republic of Korea to begin multinational exercise Sea Dragon 22. #SEADRAGON22 | #USNAVY | #FORGEDBYTHESEA | #INTERNATIONALBYDESIGN | #NAVYPARTNERSHIPS | #NAVYREADINESShttps://t.co/L84xLXcttW
— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) January 5, 2022
During classroom training sessions, pilots and flight officers from all the countries will build plans and discuss tactics incorporating the capabilities and equipment of their nations, the US Pacific Fleet said in a statement.
“I believe that by conducting a wide range of training, from classroom training on the ground to actual training targeting a submarine, we will be able to improve our tactical skills. In addition, through training, exchange of opinions, and various types of exchanges, we expect to strengthen cooperation and deepen mutual understanding among the participating navies and air forces.”
“This exercise is an annual, multi-national high-end ASW training exercise,” said Cmdr Tomoyuki Michiyama, commanding officer of Flight Division 31 of Air Patrol Squadron 3 of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft will conduct maritime patrols and reconnaissance and theatre outreach operations within the US Pacific Fleet area of operations.
This multinational military exercise in Guam comes at a time when China is threatening to invade Taiwan on an almost daily basis. This Maritime exercise will act as a deterrence against China’s adventurous Taiwan invasion plan.