Malabar Naval Exercise 2017: India, US, Japan kick off war games 6 Photos . Updated: 11 Jul 2017, 03:04 PM IST Livemint The exercise by US, Japanese and Indian navies is taking place amid the military standoff between the armies of India and China in Sikkim. In images 1/6Sailors greet the media with a ‘Namaste’ on board USS Princeton which arrived at Chennai Port Trust on Monday. The US, Japanese and Indian navies began the Malabar Naval Exercise-2017 on that day. Photos: R Senthil Kumar/PTI. 2/6A Japanese sailor on board JS Sazanami. The annual exercises named Malabar are being held off India. They are the largest since India and the US launched the exercise in 1992. Japan was included later. 3/6An Indian Navy commandant maintains vigil on board INS SHIVALIK on Monday. 4/6US sailors pose for the media on-board USS Princeton on Monday. 5/6The drills, involving the US carrier USS Nimitz, India’s lone carrier Vikramaditya and Japan’s biggest warship, the helicopter carrier Izumo, are taking place amid the military standoff between the armies of India and China in Sikkim. 6/6A US sailor on board the USS Ship Princeton during the India, Japan and United States maritime forces joint Malabar Naval Exercise-2017 on Monday.