The Indian Navy began its week-long annual joint exercise with the U.S Navy in the Arabian Sea on Friday, local media reported.

The joint exercise Malabar-2010 is a bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the U.S. Navy, and will continue till May 2, Press Trust of India quoted the Indian Navy as saying on Friday evening.

During the exercise, participants will include one advanced guided-missile destroyer, three guided missile frigates, one conventional submarine and several shore-based Sea Harrier fighters of the Indian Navy's Western Fleet, while one guided- missile cruiser, two destroyers, one frigate, one nuclear-powered submarine along with two long-range marine patrol plane P-3s are dispatched by the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific, according to the Indian Navy's news release.

The purpose of the joint exercise is to promote the interoperability between the two navies by practicing their three- dimensional operational capabilities in their training subjects ranging from the anti-submarine, anti-surface, anti-aircraft warfare to the sea search and interdiction drills, said the Indian Navy.

To improve the capability of anti-pirates, a U.S. Navy's special force SEAL detachment will practice its special operation programs with the Indian Navy in the Arabian Sea.

Over the years, both navies have undertaken some diverse bilateral activities, such as the exchanges of training, information and technology, and the cooperation between the two navies represents the long-term strategic relationship between the two countries, according to the release.

The annual Malabar series of exercises began in 1992, and thirteen such exercises have been held in the previous years.