Ahead of the biggest joint exercises, the Australian Defence Force lands in Indonesia

INN/New Delhi, @Infodeaofficial

For a combined military drill that would include 2,000 people from both nations, members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) arrived on Sunday with their cruiser mooring at Banyuwangi in East Java, Indonesia.

The largest cooperative military exercise between the two nations under the Australia-Indonesia Defence Cooperation Agreement is the Keris Woomera Exercise. “What we aim to do is simply increase cooperation with our neighbours, to increase our prosperity and security to share cooperation with our neighbours.” Captain Chris Doherty, commander of the Australian Amphibious Task Force, told reporters.

According to Doherty, both sides will rehearse a live-fire, a joint landing operation, and a non-combat evacuation procedure used in the event of a disaster. After opening in Darwin, Australia on November 3, the exercise in Indonesia is scheduled for November 13–16. Indonesia has staged military exercises with other countries, such as one with the Naval forces of Russia on Nov. 4 in the Java Sea near Surabaya, east of the capital Jakarta.