ASEAN to hold first joint military exercise in the South China Sea

News Snapshot:

The Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN will hold its first-ever joint military exercise in the South China Sea, its chair Indonesia said on Thursday, the latest multilateral security drills at a time of rising tension and uncertainty in the region. The decision was taken at a meeting of military commanders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia, which will host the exercise in the North Natuna Sea, the southernmost waters of the South China Sea. Indonesia’s military chief, Admiral Yudo Margono, told state-run news agency Antara the exercise would be in September and would not include any...