Indonesia and the United States are building a new maritime training center at the strategic meeting point of the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, in a move to counter China’s increasing aggression in the region.
Construction has begun on the $3.5 million center on Indonesia’s island of Batam, at the southern entrance to the strategic Straits of Malacca, which is a crucial chokepoint for global maritime trade, connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans. China doesn’t have access points to the Indian Ocean.
