Indonesia's navy will hold its biggest-ever exercise near disputed waters with Malaysia next month, deploying 40 warships and more than 5,000 personnel, a naval spokesman said Thursday. The two-week operation will include a mock drill to retake an island near the oil-and gas-rich area of Ambalat, which is claimed by both Indonesia and Malaysia, said Lt. Col. Tony Syaiful, of the Eastern Fleet. He was quoted as saying by The Associated Press that he did not expect the navy's "biggest-ever exercise" to heighten tensions between the neighboring countries. The drill will kick off on Dec. 8 when warships from Surabaya, the capital of Indonesia's East Java province, begin moving northward through the Makassar strait to waters near the Ambalat region, Syaiful said. It will peak on Dec. 14, when 1,300 marines carry out a drill on Sangata island, acting as if it had been occupied by foreign forces, he said. Sangata is located off the eastern coast of Kalimantan province, about 1,400 kilometers (875 miles) northeast of Jakarta.
