Indonesia, U.S. hold annual joint military exercises

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia and the United States on Monday began two weeks of annual military exercises involving more than 4,500 personnel, aimed at boosting operational skills as Washington seeks to shore-up ties in a region where China is vying for influence.

Super Garuda Shield, which has been held since 2006, will include simulations like land and air operations, combat search and rescue and exercises in engineering and cargo delivery.

The drills are taking place in Sidoarjo, East Java province, and also include troops from Australia, Japan, Britain, France and New Zealand. They will be observed by Malaysia, the Philippines and East Timor, said Rudy Hernawan, spokesperson of the Indonesian military.

The programme will include a joint exercise against cyber threats, which Indonesia has experienced several times in the past few years, including a cyberattack in June that disrupted multiple government services including immigration and operations of major airports.

Indonesia said the drills would benefit all countries.

"The joint exercise is a way to build trust, as well as to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations," said military official Widyargo Ikoputra.

The event comes amid geopolitical competition between Beijing and Washington and disagreements over trade, Taiwan and the conduct of Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, of which Indonesia is a coastal state.

Southeast Asian countries have been concerned about the possibility of a dangerous escalation in the South China Sea after more than a year of rows and run-ins between vessels of China and the Philippines, a regional ally of the United States and host to thousands of its troops on a rotational basis.

Indonesia said the exercises were not related to the South China Sea and sought to "increase military cooperation among countries especially the interoperability skills", according to spokesperson Rudy.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Martin Petty)