Despite global tensions over multiple flashpoints, India continues to balance its military ties with diverse partners, simultaneously engaging with the militaries of the US and Russia at Guam and Visakhapatnam, respectively.Two warships—Sovershenny and Rezky—from Russia’s Pacific Fleet arrived at the eastern port of Visakhapatnam on a business call on March 14. The ships, based in Vladivostok, are on a long-distance Asia-Pacific deployment after departing on February 12.The ships’ crews will participate in cultural and sports events together with Indian naval personnel. Russian Embassy in India and representatives of the Indian Navy received them. The Russian ships will also restock their supplies to the required level during their stay.Meanwhile at Guam, a US base in the western Pacific Ocean, the Indian Navy has joined an anti-submarine maritime exercise ‘Sea Dragon 2026’, hosted by the US. Other participating countries include Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The exercise is being conducted at Andersen Air Force Base and began on March 9, with drills scheduled for almost three weeks.All five navies are fielding their respective long-range maritime reconnaissance planes, the Boeing P8 or its variants. These are capable of hunting submarines. These planes can generate a common ‘picture’ of the sea. The planes also enable seamless communication with each other.A US Navy statement said Sea Dragon 2026 advances aircrew proficiency in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) by progressing from simulated tracking to submarine detection and tracking. The crews will participate in over 200 cumulative hours of in-flight training, along with classroom sessions focused on planning and tactical coordination.The exercise has been held annually since 2019.These engagements come against the backdrop of tensions in West Asia. While the US and Israel are engaged in conflict with Iran, India had two weeks sheltered an Iranian warship, IRIS Lavan, at Kochi, where it remains docked along with some crew members.At the same time, the US and its NATO allies are at loggerheads with Russia since the war with Ukraine.India has been refining its military ties with US and Russia. In November last year, India and the US had discussed how to refine bilateral and multilateral exercises. The two navies are looking to add greater complexity to the drills to include a ‘submarine hunt’ and track ‘enemy vessels’ that would strengthen the India-US maritime partnership and advance shared strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific.India and the US are also part of the strategic multi-nation constructs, like the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), that operates in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.Meanwhile, a joint statement released after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi in December said the six-decade old India-Russia military ties were ‘re-oriented’ to have ‘co-development and co-production’ of advanced technology as a new benchmark to promote make in India.