Australian and Indonesian forces deploy battle tanks in US-led combat drills amid Chinese concern

Thousands of soldiers from the United States, Indonesia, Australia and other allied forces demonstrated their armor capabilities in combat drills on the Indonesian island of Java at a time of increased Chinese aggression in the region. Sunday's drills come as the U.S. administration has been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to reassure allies alarmed by Beijing’s increasingly provocative actions in the disputed South China Sea. A commanding General of the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division told The Associated Press that the introduction of armor capability in the large-scale exercises called “Super Garuda Shield,” would give the allied forces and defense partners a chance to test their weaponry in combat training."