US, Indonesia, Australia hold military drills amid China concerns

BATURAJA, Indonesia — Soldiers from the U.S., Indonesia and Australia joined a live-fire drill on Friday, part of annual joint combat exercises on Sumatra island amid growing Chinese maritime activity in the Indo-Pacific region.

A total of more than 5,000 personnel from the U.S., Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Singapore are participating in this year’s Super Garuda Shield exercises, making them the largest since they began in 2009.

The expanded drills are seen by China as a threat . Chinese state media have accused the U.S. of building an Indo-Pacific alliance similar to NATO to limit China’s growing military and diplomatic influence in the region.

The United Kingdom, Canada, France, India, Malaysia, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and East Timor also sent observers to the exercises, which began early this month.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, Adm. John C. Aquilino, said the 14 nations involved in the training are signaling their stronger ties as China grows increasingly assertive in claiming virtually the entire South China Sea and holds exercises threatening self-ruled Taiwan.

“The destabilizing actions by the People’s Republic of China as it applied to the threatening activities and actions against Taiwan is exactly what we are trying to avoid,” he said at a joint news conference with Indonesian military chief Gen. Andika Perkasa in Baturaja, a coastal town in South Sumatra province.

“We’ll continue to help deliver a free and open Indo-Pacific and be ready when we need to respond to any contingency,” Aquilino said.

Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. John C. Aquilino, right, talks to the media as Indonesian Armed Forces Chief Gen. Andika Perkasa, left, and Commander of Indonesian Army Education and Training Command Lt. Gen. Ignatius Yogo Triyono, center, listen during a press conference at Super Garuda Shield 2022 in Baturaja, South Sumatra, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Indonesia and China enjoy generally positive ties, but Jakarta has expressed concern about what it sees as Chinese encroachment in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.

Despite its official position as a non-claimant state in the contested South China Sea, Indonesia has been “dragged along” in the territorial dispute since 2010 after China claimed part of Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone in the northern region of the Natuna Islands, said Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, a security analyst at the University of Indonesia.

The edge of the exclusive economic zone overlaps with Beijing’s unilaterally declared “nine-dash line” demarking its claims in the South China Sea.

Increased activities by Chinese coast guard vessels and fishing boats in the area have unnerved Jakarta, prompting Indonesia’s navy to conduct a large drill in July 2020 in waters around Natuna at the southern portion of the South China Sea.

Indonesia sees the current exercises with the U.S. as a deterrent in defense of the Natuna Islands, while for Washington, the drills are part of efforts to forge a united front against China’s military buildup in the South China Sea, Bakrie said.

“Indonesia wants to send the message that it is fully prepared for any high-intensity conflict in the South China Sea area,” she said.

The joint combat exercises end Sunday.

Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.

印度尼西亚巴图拉贾——周五，来自美国、印度尼西亚和澳大利亚的士兵参加了在苏门答腊岛举行的实弹演习，这是年度联合作战演习的一部分，而此时中国在印太地区的海上活动日益频繁。

今年共有来自美国、印度尼西亚、澳大利亚、日本和新加坡的5000多名人员参加“超级迦楼罗之盾”演习，这是自2009年开始举行该演习以来规模最大的一次。

中国认为此次扩大军演构成威胁。中国官方媒体指责美国正在构建一个类似于北约的印太联盟，以限制中国在该地区日益增长的军事和外交影响力。

英国、加拿大、法国、印度、马来西亚、韩国、新西兰、巴布亚新几内亚和东帝汶也派出了观察员参加此次演习，演习于本月初开始。

美国印太司令约翰·C·阿奎利诺海军上将表示，参与此次训练的14个国家正在发出加强彼此联系的信号，因为中国在声称对几乎整个南海拥有主权方面变得越来越强硬，并且举行演习威胁到自治的台湾。

“中华人民共和国针对台湾的威胁活动和行动所造成的不稳定局面，正是我们努力避免的，”他在南苏门答腊省沿海城镇巴图拉贾与印尼军方首脑安迪卡·佩尔卡萨将军举行的联合新闻发布会上说。

阿奎利诺说：“我们将继续帮助实现自由开放的印太地区，并随时准备应对任何突发事件。”

2022年8月12日，在南苏门答腊巴图拉贾举行的“超级迦楼罗之盾2022”军演新闻发布会上，美国印太司令部司令约翰·C·阿奎利诺海军上将（右）向媒体发表讲话，印尼武装部队总司令安迪卡·佩尔卡萨上将（左）和印尼陆军教育训练司令部司令伊格内修斯·约戈·特里约诺中将（中）在旁聆听。（美联社照片/迪塔·阿拉卡拉）

印尼和中国的关系总体上是积极的，但雅加达对中国在南海专属经济区内的侵略行为表示担忧。

印度尼西亚大学安全分析师康妮·拉哈昆迪尼·巴克里表示，尽管印尼官方立场是南海争议中的非声索国，但自2010年中国声称对印尼位于纳土纳群岛北部的专属经济区拥有主权以来，印尼就一直被“拖入”领土争端之中。

专属经济区的边缘与北京单方面宣布的划定其在南海主权声索的“九段线”重叠。

中国海警船和渔船在该地区的活动日益频繁，令雅加达感到不安，促使印尼海军于 2020 年 7 月在南海南部纳土纳群岛附近海域举行了一次大规模演习。

巴克里表示，印尼将目前与美国的联合演习视为对纳土纳群岛防御的一种威慑，而对华盛顿而言，这些演习是为对抗中国在南海的军事集结而努力的一部分。

“印尼希望传达的信息是，它已为南海地区任何高强度冲突做好了充分准备，”她说。

联合作战演习将于周日结束。

卡米尼从印度尼西亚雅加达报道。