US, Indonesia, Australia hold drills amid China concerns

BATURAJA, Aug 12 (AP): Soldiers from the US, Indonesia and Australia joined a live-fire drill on Friday, part of annual joint combat exercises on Sumatra island amid growing Chinese maritime activity in the Indo-Pacific region.

A total of more than 5,000 personnel from the US, Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Singapore are participating in this year's exercises, making them the largest since they began in 2009.

The expanded drills are seen by China as a threat. Chinese state media have accused the US of building an Indo-Pacific alliance similar to NATO to limit China's growing military and diplomatic influence in the region.

The United Kingdom, Canada, France, India, Malaysia, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and East Timor also sent observers to the exercises, which began early this month.