Indo-Pacific gets crowded as Russia, Asean hold naval drills

An admiral inspection ceremony is held on the Russian destroyer Admiral Panteleyev during a joint exercise between the Indonesian Navy, the Russian Navy and Asean navies. - AFP This article was published in thejakartapost.com with the title "Indo-Pacific gets crowded as Russia, ASEAN hold naval drills". Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2021/12/03/indo-pacific-gets-crowded-as-russia-asean-hold-naval-drills.html. Download The Jakarta Post app for easier and faster news access: Android: http://bit.ly/tjp-android iOS: http://bit.ly/tjp-ios

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): Russia kicked off its first ever joint naval exercise with Asean member states in the Malacca Strait on Wednesday (Dec 1), making the Eastern European country the latest actor to show a keen interest in the increasingly contested Indo-Pacific region.

The exercise aims to upgrade interoperability among the navies involved and improve regional security in the maritime trade route, a strategic chokepoint that links the Indian and Pacific oceans and facilitates 40 per cent of global trade.