US, Indonesia and five other nations hold war drills amid concerns over Chinese aggression

News Snapshot:

SOLDIERS FROM THE US, Indonesia and five other nations began annual training exercises on Indonesia’s main island of Java while China’s increasing aggression is raising concern. American and Indonesian soldiers have held the live-fire Super Garuda Shield drills since 2009. Soldiers from Australia, Japan and Singapore joined last year, whilst the United Kingdom and French forces are participating in this year’s exercises, with a total of about 5,000 personnel. China sees the expanded drills as a threat, accusing the US of building an Indo-Pacific alliance similar to Nato to limit China’s growing military and diplomatic influence in the region. Brunei,...