Indonesia kicks off multilateral naval exercise amid Asia-Pacific tension

Indonesia on Monday launched a multilateral naval exercise in its waters, alongside navies from countries including the United States, Britain, China,
Japan, Russia and South Korea, amid simmering tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.
Indonesia’s navy said in a statement the routine Komodo drills were a “non-war” exercise that aims to “strengthen relationships between the navies” of 36 countries.
The drills come as China and the United States ramp up military diplomacy in the region, staging more frequent war games with allies and partners around Taiwan, and in the busy waterways of the South China Sea and the western Pacific.
The drills also follow a weekend incident in the Taiwan Strait in which the U.S. Navy said a Chinese warship cut in front of a U.S. destroyer in an “unsafe interaction”.