The exercise, which will involve 21 warships from other countries in the Asia-Pacific and 17 Indonesian warships, will be carried out in Bali.
At a press conference on Friday, Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral Muhammad Ali, informed that the MNEK is a non-combatant exercise that has been routinely held by the Indonesian Navy every two years since 2014.
The joint exercise aims to build interoperability between navies, especially in disaster management and other humanitarian operations.
"We have experienced a tsunami disaster and we received assistance from other countries. Therefore, we must practice to strengthen our work to assist right on target," Ali said at the press conference.
The 5th MNEK joint exercise will be attended by navies from 38 countries, including Indonesia.
Several participating countries will also send their warships to train with Indonesian warships. They include Australia, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, and Thailand.
They further include the United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam, Iran, South Korea, and China.
The 37 participating countries of the 5th MNEK that have so far confirmed their attendance, in addition to the countries mentioned above, include Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Fiji, Iraq, and Italy.
Kenya, Laos, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar will also join the exercise.
During the exercise, ships will carry out field maneuver activities in the Badung Strait.
There will be other activities such as forums for the exchange of experiences and insights between officers (SMEE), bilateral meetings with navies of various countries, the International Maritime Security Symposium (IMSS), defense exhibitions, cultural activities, and cultural parades in Bali.
Participating countries will also take part in a social service program called the engineering civic action program (ENCAP) under the joint exercise.
The 45-day ENCAP will take place in Antiga Kelod village, Karangasem, Bali, starting January 6. The planned development programs include renovating a fishermen's equipment warehouse, building toilet facilities, and paving a 1-kilometer stretch of road.
They will also include a medical civic assistance program (MEDCAP), which will offer general health checks, blood donation, cataract surgery, and cleft lip surgery for residents, in Karangasem, Bali.
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Translator: Genta Tenri, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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