US, Indonesia and five other nations hold war drills in hotly disputed South China Sea

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP): Soldiers from the US, Indonesia and five other nations began annual training exercises Thursday 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, and Australia, Japan and Singapore joined last year. The United Kingdom and French forces are participating in this year’s exercises, with a total of about 5,000 personnel.