Friendly gunboat diplomacy: Jakarta Post

Naval ships from South-East Asian countries taking part in the inaugural Asean-Russia Naval Exercise on Dec 2, 2021 in the waters off the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean. Regional defence cooperation is vital amid the rise of traditional and nontraditional maritime threats. - AFP/Indonesian Navy

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): Amid the recently heightened tensions in the region, partly caused by power games between China and the United States, as well as other regional players, Indonesia is hosting a multilateral naval exercise involving various countries that do not usually see eye to eye.

The Fourth Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo (MNEK) took place in Makassar from Monday until Thursday (June 5-8) involving 2,500 personnel from 36 countries, including Indonesia.