The Latest on Southeast Asia: August 19, 2022

Southeast Asia saw a flurry of diplomatic activity and joint military exercises in August. Hot on the heels of hosting the 26-country Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC 2022, naval exercises in and around Hawaii, the United States from August 1 to 14 co-hosted the Super Garuda Shied 2022 joint exercise with Indonesia. While the Garuda Shield exercises were established in 2009 and have been held on an annual basis since, this year’s iteration was the largest so far—hence “super”—with 14 participating countries. This includes first-time participants Australia, Japan, and Singapore, and returning participants Canada, France, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and the United Kingdom. The enhanced scale of the exercise demonstrates not only the maturity and depth of U.S.-Indonesia military ties, but also the extent to which this partnership has become networked, with other key partners in the region having a role to play.
 
This month also saw the return of a full-scale, in-person Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training, or SEACAT 2022, following two years of virtual engagements and non-contact trainings. Launched on August 16, the exercise will see 21 nations participate in a maritime domain awareness seminar and a visit, board, search, and seizure workshop, among other trainings. And the United States also just concluded Pacific Partnership 2022 in the Philippines, with nearly 2,000 military and medical personnel from partner militaries participating in multilateral humanitarian assistance exercises. The European Union also held exercises with Southeast Asian partners this month, working with Indonesia to conduct their first joint naval exercise in the Arabian Sea from August 14 to 15.
 
Meanwhile, China and Thailand on August 14 launched the joint air force exercise Falcon Strike 2022, which will take place until August 25. The exercise—the fifth of its kind—was last held in 2019, and will see the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deploy six J-10 C/S fighter jets, a JH-7AI fighter-bomber, and a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft to Thailand’s Udon Thani province. The Royal Thai Air Force, for its part, will deploy five Gripen aircraft, three Alphajet attack aircraft, and a SAAB 340 AEW early warning and control aircraft. The timing of Falcon Strike, immediately after China’s retaliatory live-fire exercises around Taiwan, highlights the increasingly tenuous balancing act Bangkok seeks to maintain between nominal ally Washington and major partner Beijing. The Thai military continues to pursue closer security ties with China even as Thailand and the United States reaffirm their commitment to a strategic alliance.
 
Thailand is unique among U.S. security partners in the region in simultaneously deepening military ties with the United States and China. Elsewhere, the increasing scope and sophistication of joint exercises between the United States and its partners, signaled especially by Super Garuda Shield, reflects rising anxieties about China’s strategic intentions and a desire to expand beyond traditional security partnerships in response. And amid a period of heightened tension, both in the South China Sea and in the Taiwan Strait, the communication, trust, and interoperability developed through these exercises has become even more important for Southeast Asian partners in managing uncertainty.

For more political, economic, and security analysis on the region, check out our blog series, The Latest on Southeast Asia. To hear the latest news on the region and hear from Southeast Asia experts, listen and subscribe to the Southeast Asia Radio podcast on any streaming platform.