Indonesia, a New Partner of BRICS, Will Hold First Naval Exercises with Russia

Indonesian news site Kompas reported that the Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergey Tolchenov on Oct. 23 announced that the Russian and Indonesian militaries will hold their first joint naval exercise, Orruda, in November in Surabaya, East Java. Indonesia, as well as Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, have joined the BRICS as “partners,” marking a dramatic shift by the ASEAN nations away from the U.S. effort to create a military confrontation against China.