INTERNATIONAL

First Joint Military Exercises by ASEAN bloc to take place in South China Sea

According to Indonesian authorities, as tensions rise over China’s growing aggressiveness in the area, Southeast Asian countries have decided to perform their first-ever combined military exercises in the South China Sea.

Yudo Margono, head of the Indonesian military, said this during a gathering of Southeast Asian defense leaders in Bali, according to official news agency Antara. “We will hold joint military drills in the North Natuna Sea,” he added.www.theindiaprint.com first joint military exercises by asean bloc to take place in south china sea download 2023 06 09t173039.174

All ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members as well as observer member Timor-Leste would participate in them in September, he added.

That would include the junta-run nation of Myanmar, where the military overthrew a civilian government and carried out a violent crackdown on dissent that led to extensive sanctions from the US and the EU.

Margono said that the drills won’t entail any military actions and would instead concentrate on marine security and rescue.

It has to do with ASEAN centrality, he said.

The members of the bloc have previously participated in naval drills with the US, but they have never conducted joint military training.

After a near-collision with a Philippine ship and a Chinese fighter pilot’s risky maneuver close to an American surveillance plane, Washington demanded that Beijing halt its “provocative” behavior in the disputed waterway.

Additionally, there have been demonstrations in Jakarta when Chinese ships have strayed into the seas of North Natuna, which Indonesia claims as its own.

Despite conflicting claims from other Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, China asserts that it owns the majority of the South China Sea.

Beijing’s ships have patrolled the region and, when questioned, have referenced China’s disputed so-called nine-dash line to support its supposed historical rights to the seas.

Leaders from ASEAN met last month to address “serious incidents” in the South China Sea and continuing discussions over a code of conduct designed to lessen the likelihood of confrontation there.

Critics have long criticized ASEAN for being a toothless talking shop and for being constrained by its charter’s values of agreement and non-interference.

The next leaders’ meeting of the bloc will take place in September in Jakarta, Indonesia.

 

 

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