Indonesia’s Armed Forces has started joint exercises with 21 other nations in an effort to increase cooperation in United Nations missions and to foster stability in the Asia-Pacific, according to local media.

Gen. Djoko Santoso, chief of the Armed Forces, officially launched the exercise, code-named Garuda Shield 2009, at the Army’s Infantry Education Center in Cipatat in West Java on June 16.

Garuda Shield incorporated two stages, including a command post operation this week, and a mock field mission next week from June 22-29, Jakarta Globe, a local newspaper said.

Nine countries are slated to take part in the first phase, while an additional 12 nations would participate in the field exercise. The US, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Thailand and several other Asian countries.

Gen. Djoko said the exercise aimed to improve cooperation among participating forces in light of complex geopolitical developments such as the global financial crisis and the swine flu pandemic, as well as ongoing threats from terrorism, transnational crimes, and border conflicts.

“Those issues force us to establish cooperation in dealing with the issues to create regional security, particularly in Asia and the Pacific,” he was quoted by the paper as saying.

The exercise, sponsored by the US Pacific Command, is the third such operation to be held in Asia. The first exercise was organised in Mongolia under the code name Khan Quest in 2007, and the second, called Santi Dhoot, took place in Bangladesh in 2008./.