New Delhi // India began holding naval exercises with the United States and Japan off its south coast on Monday, seeking to forge closer military ties to counter growing Chinese influence in the region.
The exercises are being held as Indian and Chinese troops face off in a remote and strategically sensitive part of the Himalayas where India, China and Bhutan meet.
India has a longstanding territorial dispute with its northern neighbour, which is also expanding its naval presence in the region.
It is the fourth consecutive year Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force has taken part in the Malabar Exercise, conducted annually by the US and Indian in the Bay of Bengal since 1992.
The US said the exercises had "grown in scope and complexity over the years to address the variety of shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia Pacific".
The US navy is fielding the USS Nimitz, the world's largest aircraft carrier, for the drills which go on until July 17.
China has stepped up its activities in the Indian Ocean in recent years, building ports in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The area also features heavily in Beijing's new One Belt One Road initiative to revive ancient trade routes from Asia, which has caused concerns in New Delhi.
Troops from the two nuclear-armed neighbours have for weeks been engaged in a stand-off on a disputed section of land near what is known as the trijunction, where Tibet, India and Bhutan meet.
China claims that the Indian troops are on its soil, but both Bhutan and India say the area in question is Bhutanese territory.
The maritime exercises come weeks after US president Donald Trump declared that ties between Washington and New Delhi had "never been stronger" as he held his first talks with India's prime minister Narendra Modi in Washington.
Beijing already claims large swathes of the resource-rich South China Sea and East China Sea, putting it in competition with Japan and other countries in the region.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
HWJN
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