Brussels (VNA) – The European Union and Indonesiaheld their first joꦬint naval exercise i♓n the Arabian Sea on August 14-15.

The exercise involved Indonesian Navy corvette KRI SultanIskandar Muda and EU NAVFOR Somalia –Operation Atalanta frigate ITS Virginio Fasan. It was based onthe scenario of an anti-piracy operation, including cross-deck helicopterlandings, complex tactical evolutions at sea, boarding of suspicious vesselsand fuel replenishment at sea. The EU project on Critical Maritime Routes in theIndo-Pacific (CRIMARIO) provided its Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing(IORIS) platform for communication between participants in the exercise. The EU and Indonesia have conducted a regular Security PolicyDialogue to strengthen cooperation on security issues. In November 2021, thesixth meeting of the dialogue discussed maritime security alongside the fightagainst terrorism and violent extremism, countering narcotics, peacekeeping andcrisis management, cyber security, nuclear non-proliferation and disaster management. The EU sees Indonesia and the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) as major partners for the implementation of the EU’s Strategyfor Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, in line with the ASEAN Outlook on theIndo-Pacific. The EU and Indonesia intend to strengthen operational cooperation at sea,including joint naval exercises and port calls, enhancing the exchange ofinformation and experience, and building capacity for maritime domainawareness, notably through the EU projects on Enhancing Security Cooperation inand with Asia (ESIWA) and on Critical Maritime Routes in the Indo-Pacific(CRIMARIO)./.