Ships of the US Navy are participating in a composite training unit exercise. (Photo: U.S. Navy)
The naval forces of the United States and Indonesia kicked off a joint exercise called the 2015 Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) to boost their maritime cooperation and maintain stability in the Southeast Asia region.
Spokesperson of the Indonesian Navy Lieutenant Colonel Maman Sulaeman said the joint naval training, which takes place from August 3 to 10 on the ground in Surabaya and in the waters and airspace of the Java and Bali Seas, plays an important role, not only to improve the naval forces’ professionalism but also to strengthen the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the United States.
It features simultaneous amphibious landings, surface and anti-submarine warfare, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations and an anti-air warfare missile live fire training exercise.
Indonesia has participated in the CARAT since 1995.
The training is part of a broader bilateral exercises series the US Navy conducts with nine partners in South and Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor Leste, to address shared maritime security priorities and strengthen maritime partnership among participating forces.-VNA
