Indonesia and the US began annual joint military drills on Monday along with forces from a dozen other countries, as the US pushes its allies to take threats from China seriously. Hosted by the Indonesian National Armed Forces, this year’s Super Garuda Shield focused on strengthening ties.

Australia, Japan, Singapore, the UK, France, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Brazil and South Korea are taking part, bringing the total number of troops to 6500.

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