SITUBONDO: More than 2,000 Indonesian and Australian troops held joint military drills on Wednesday (Nov 13), after the allies signed a new defence agreement pledging closer cooperation to counter security threats in the Asia-Pacific region.
The two countries have sought to boost security ties in the face of increased flashpoints in the region including the South China Sea, where several states claim sovereignty over disputed islands and waterways.
The four-day exercise named Keris Woomera on Indonesia’s main island Java includes air, land, sea and cyber exercises in what Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles has called “the biggest exercise that Australia will do outside of our nation this year”.
Both forces carried out an amphibious landing at a beach in eastern Java on Wednesday, the Australian embassy in Jakarta said in a statement.
Tanks, ships, fighter jets, landing craft, assault helicopters, and around 2,000 military personnel were also involved in a live-fire exercise, it said.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called the new security agreement signed in August a “historic milestone” for ties between the two nations.
It includes provisions for joint drills and deployments to each country.
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