Indonesian Navy corvette (Photo:indonesiaexpat.biz) Brussels (VNA) – The European Union and Indonesia held their first joint naval exercise in the Arabian Sea on August 14-15.
The exercise involved Indonesian Navy corvette KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda and EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta frigate ITS Virginio Fasan. It was based on the scenario of an anti-piracy operation, including cross-deck helicopter landings, complex tactical evolutions at sea, boarding of suspicious vessels and fuel replenishment at sea.
The EU project on Critical Maritime Routes in the Indo-Pacific (CRIMARIO) provided its Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) platform for communication between participants in the exercise.
The EU and Indonesia have conducted a regular Security Policy Dialogue to strengthen cooperation on security issues. In November 2021, the sixth meeting of the dialogue discussed maritime security alongside the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, countering narcotics, peacekeeping and crisis management, cyber security, nuclear non-proliferation and disaster management.
The EU sees Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as major partners for the implementation of the EU’s Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, in line with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
The EU and Indonesia intend to strengthen operational cooperation at sea, including joint naval exercises and port calls, enhancing the exchange of information and experience, and building capacity for maritime domain awareness, notably through the EU projects on Enhancing Security Cooperation in and with Asia (ESIWA) and on Critical Maritime Routes in the Indo-Pacific (CRIMARIO)./.
