Thousands of soldiers from Indonesia, the United States and their allies participated in live shooting exercises this Friday (12). A US general described the activity as a regional conflict prevention effort following China’s operations in Taiwan.

The “Super Garuda Shield” exercise, held annually in Indonesia, followed Chinese maneuvers in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island claimed by Beijing.

The United States and its allies in Asia have expressed growing concern about the intensification of China’s presence in the Pacific, but Washington claims these major moves are not directed at any one country.

“The destabilizing action of the People’s Republic of China against Taiwan is exactly what we want to avoid,” Admiral John Aquilino, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said at a press conference after the operations.

At least 4,000 US and Indonesian troops, supported by Australian, Singaporean and Japanese troops, are participating in this exercise. In a mountainous area, the army tested anti-tank Javelin missiles, while Apache helicopters flew over the area, firing machine gun and missile blasts.

Indonesian army chief Andika Perkasa denied that the widespread deployment of assets at these annual exercises was related to escalating tensions with China.