VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia, along with the United States and five other countries, will begin the Super Garuda Shield 2023 military exercise as a form of multilateral solidarity to safeguard a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Several military service personnel from the United States, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and France will participate in Super Garuda Shield 2023 at multiple training locations in Indonesia from August 31 to September 13, the US Embassy in Jakarta noted in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the statement, additional observing nations during the exercises will include Brunei, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Timor-Leste.

"Super Garuda Shield 2023 builds on last year's tremendous success," General Charles Flynn, commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific, stated.

"This joint, multinational training exercise displays our collective commitment and like-minded unity, allowing for a stable, secure, and more peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific," Flynn stated.

Super Garuda Shield is the largest military exchange each year between the United States and Indonesia, with this year’s iteration expanding upon the number of participating nations.

Approximately 2,100 US and 1,900 Indonesian TNI service members from across multiple military branches will enhance interoperability capabilities through training and cultural exchanges, according to the US Embassy.

The exercise continues to solidify the US-Indonesia Major Defense Partnership and advances cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

With professional training and combat exercises taking place in Surabaya and Banyuwangi, Super Garuda Shield 2023 strengthens the US-Indonesian defense partnership through cooperative learning and enhanced trust among the two militaries, the Embassy noted in its statement.

The training includes expert academic exchanges and professional development workshops, a command and control simulation, an amphibious exercise, airborne operations, an airfield seizure exercise, and a combined joint field training that culminates with a live fire event.

Meanwhile, the command post exercise will focus on mission planning staff tasks in a combined military setting. A field training exercise will involve battalion-strength elements from each nation exercising war-fighting skills to enhance interoperability and combined operational capacity. (antaranews)