The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is moving ahead with plans for joint naval exercises in September 2023, the first held by countries in the bloc on their own.

The Indonesian military said today that ASEAN member countries held an initial planning conference for the joint exercises, to be held from 18 to 25 September 2023 near a disputed area of the South China Sea.

ASEAN members Cambodia and Myanmar declined to take part in the planning conference, according to the Indonesian military.

Source: Oman News Agency