31 August 2023
Personnel swapped the sea for sand as part of a scheduled ‘beach break’ to relax and meet up with their fellow sailors, after several intense days of high-tempo ocean manoeuvres during Exercise Malabar.
Members from the four Malabar nations came ashore at HMAS Creswell in Jervis Bay for a tour of the historic Royal Australian Naval College, a game of soccer and a visit to the picture-perfect Hyams Beach.
The break was a high point for the visiting partners, who saw Australian icons up close for the first time, with Indian Navy Leading Seaman Vipin Singh Tomar saying a Kangaroo sighting was the perfect way to cap off their tour.
“It’s my first time here in Australia and my first time working with the Royal Australian Navy. This is a great country, a great navy. We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to come here and enjoy the exercise, the city and now the wildlife too.”
Down on Hyams Beach, winter was suspended as all crews caught the sun and grew stronger relationships for the years ahead.
Lieutenant Commander Mahesh Yadar, from Indian Navy Ship Kolkata, said the time at Malabar was a resounding success for the Indian Navy in learning how to work with their regional partners.
“I love the visits across the ships. It has been good to see how our navies operate together,” Lieutenant Commander Yadar said.
Meanwhile, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Lieutenant Junior Grade Takayi Yuichi, from Japanese Ship Shiranui,, worked with the Australian and Indian navies and built on the relationship with the United States, who have a constant base in Japan.
“I’m enjoying things. I’m especially impressed with the relaxed yet professional environment on HMAS Choules. I would like to take this balance back to our fleet,” he said.
HMAS Brisbane-based Able Seaman Sarah West said she greatly benefitted from having members of the partner navies on board.
“We’ve had a radar technician embedded with us from the USS Rafael Peralta and we loved having him,” Able Seaman West said.
“We learned a lot, he gave us a lot of handy hints, and he’ll go back to his ship with a lot of information too, so it is a real friendship we are building,”
Chief Petty Officer Joe Chaipan, from Rafael Peralta, said with perfect beach days in the middle of winter, he hoped to see more regional exercises planned in Australia.
“We absolutely love it. It’s my second time here, my first time was in Brisbane, and we loved it there too. It has been an awesome experience to see our forces all come together like that,” he said.
