Hosted by the Indonesian National Armed Forces, this year's Super Garuda Shield focused on strengthening regional ties in an increasingly unstable global landscape, said General Tandyo Budi Revita, the military's deputy commander.
"It serves as a joint exercise where we stand together to respond every challenge quickly and precisely," he said in his speech at a ceremony along with Admiral Samuel Paparo, the Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command.
The exercise has been held annually in Jakarta by US and Indonesian soldiers since 2009.
The list of participants has expanded since 2022 to include Australia, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Brazil and South Korea, bringing the total number of troops taking part in the drill to 6500.
Paparo said the expanded participants symbolised a commitment to partnership and to the sovereignty of each country through mutual respect.
"It represents deterring anyone that would hope to change the facts on the ground using violence with the collective determination of all participants to uphold the principles of sovereignty," Paparo said.
Jakarta has expressed concern about what it sees as Chinese encroachment on its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, while maintaining generally positive ties with Beijing.
Several Asian countries also sent observers to the 11-day combat exercise in Jakarta and on Sumatra island. They will end on September 4 with a combined live-fire drill.
The expanded drills have sparked concern from China, which accused the US of trying to build an "Asian NATO" to limit China's growing military and diplomatic influence in the region.
During a recent speech in Singapore, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cautioned that seeking US military support while relying on Chinese economic support carried risk.
Hegseth said Washington had been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to reassure allies alarmed by Beijing's increasing military and economic pressure from China and provocative actions in the disputed South China Sea.
Despite increased activities by Chinese coast guard vessels and fishing boats in the area have unnerved Jakarta, Indonesia has sought to avoid confrontation and continued economic initiatives with China.
