(a) The 2017 Malabar exercise wasthe 21st edition of the exercise and conducted from 10th to 17thJuly,2017. This edition involved navies India, USA and Japan. The exercise included a harbour phase at Chennai from 10th to 13thJuly,2017 and a sea phase from 14th to 17th July, 2017 in the Bay of Bengal. This edition focussed on aircraft carrier operations, air defense, anti-submarine warfare(ASW), surface warfare, visit board search and seizure (VBSS), search and rescue (SAR), joint and tactical procedures.