Indonesia is currently hosting a multilateral naval exercise called Komodo, which began on Monday and involves 36 participating countries, including the United States and China. The exercise is a non-war operation that aims to strengthen cooperation in disaster management and humanitarian responses. Meanwhile, the United States and China have been increasing their military diplomacy in the region, with incidents occurring in the Taiwan Strait. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on China to cease its risky intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft, but also made it clear that the United States will not back down in the face of coercion. Any armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait could disrupt the world, he warned. The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as part of the mainland, but President Joe Biden has affirmed the U.S.’s commitment to defend the island.