The Vietnam's navy hospital ship that attends this year's multilateral naval exercise Komodo (MNEK) in Indonesia. Photo courtesy of the Vietnam News Agency.

A Vietnamese navy hospital ship joined 50 other vessels from 36 nations including China and the U.S. on Sunday for the biennial multilateral Komodo (MNEK) naval exercise hosted by Indonesia.

This year’s exercise will run until May 9 on Indonesia’s Lombok Island to strengthen friendship, build trust and enhance coordination among naval forces of participating nations in humanitarian relief and dealing with maritime security issues.

“Today’s world has created a symbiotic life among nations, for which, maritime space is interlinked and offers at the same time, economic opportunities as well as the proliferation of insecurity. Thus, every existing maritime institution including the Indonesian Navy has concurred that cooperation is the most sensible approach in addressing this complexity," said Admiral Ade Supandi, head of the Indonesian Navy.

A view of the naval practice.

“In this regard, the biennial Komodo exercise has been recognized as one of the regional flagged events, promoting stability and peace in the region through non-combatant scenarios,” the admiral was quoted as saying. 15 aircraft and 14 helicopters also took part in the exercise.

The MNEK 2018 is mostly focusing on handling disasters and fighting pirates. Engineering and medical programs will also be held to help locals on Lombok Island.

Source: VnExpress