REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia and China's Navy personnel will hold a joint exercise in the South China Sea area in an effort to boost military cooperation between the two countries, Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Monday.

"The location for the joint exercise will be in Indonesia's territory of the South China Sea," said Purnomo after meeting with his visiting Chinese counterpart General Chang Wanquan.

Purnomo added that Indonesia had planned to send its air force pilots to Beijing to attend an aviation course there. "Beijing has an air base with simulator for planes, such as the Sukhoi 27 and 30. We plan to send our pilots to attend the aviation course using a simulator in Beijing because it is more economical, compared with funding the actual exercise with actual planes," Purnomo pointed out.

In July, Indonesian and Chinese armed forces staged the "Knife Sharp 2012" anti-terror joint military exercise in an effort to strengthen the two countries' military relations and improve the efficiency of their anti-terror forces.

The exercise of the Indonesian Army Special Force (Kopasus) and the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) were held in Jinan in the Shandong Province of China.

Indonesian National Defence Forces (TNI) Chief Admiral Agus Suhartono stated that the military of Indonesia and China were committed to maintaining regional stability and world peace.

"Indonesia and China, including the military of the two countries, are committed towards building cooperation and maintaining regional stability and world peace," Agus stated.

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