JAKARTA
(Reuters) -- Indonesia's air force is holding its largest
military exercise this week, near some of its islands in the South
China Sea, in a show of sovereignty over the gas-rich area on the
fringe of territory claimed by China, officials said on Tuesday.
President Joko
Widodo in June launched an unprecedented campaign to bolster fishing,
oil exploration and defense facilities around the Natuna island chain
after a series of face-offs between the Indonesian navy and Chinese
fishing boats.
China, while not
disputing Indonesia's clams to the Natuna islands, has raised
Indonesian anger by saying the two countries had "over-lapping
claims" to waters near them, an area Indonesia calls the Natuna
Sea.
"We want to
show our existence in the area. We have a good enough air force to
act as a deterrent," said Jemi Trisonjaya, spokesman for
Indonesia's air force.
More than 2,000 air
force personnel were taking part in the two-week long exercise, which
includes the deployment of Indonesia's fleet of Russian Sukhoi and
F-16 fighter jets, he said.
Other branches of
the Indonesian armed forces are not taking part in exercise, which
ends on Thursday.
China claims almost
the entire South China Sea, where about $5 trillion worth of trade
passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and
Vietnam also have claims.
While Indonesia is
not part of the dispute over claims in the South China Sea, it
objects to China's inclusion of waters around the Natuna Islands
within its "nine-dash line", a demarcation line used by
China to show its claims in the sea.
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