Indian Army troops have joined forces with personnel from the US, France, Japan and Indonesia in a multinational exercise in Indonesia to practice precise ‘parachuting’ down ‘behind enemy lines’.Forty India Army parachutists joined the 10-day multinational exercise that culminates on Friday. The Indonesian National Armed Forces have deployed 110 soldiers in the drills, followed by 147 US paratroopers, 17 Japanese personnel and six French jumpers.Indonesian Army Chief Lieutenant General M Naudi Nurdika said in a statement, “The joint airborne training was designed to enhance troops’ tactical capabilities to infiltrate enemy lines directly from the air.”He added the activity also served as a vital means for the five countries to synchronise procedures and test their ability to mount immediate joint operations in response to regional crises or contingencies.The drill is aimed at strengthening the ability of paratroopers from the five countries to conduct safe and precise airborne manoeuvres, the General added.The troops have conducted static-line parachute jumps from an altitude of 1,200 feet over the Baturaja landing area in Ogan Komering Ulu District in Indonesia. Two Indonesian C-130 aircraft, supported by three US Air Force C130 planes, are being used by the para-troopers.Being conducted at Baturaja in South Sumatra, the drills are part of the Super Garuda Shield multinational exercise which involves around 6,000 soldiers from 15 countries.This year’s Super Garuda Shield exercise is taking place in several strategic regions across Indonesia, including Jakarta, Bandung, Lampung and North Kalimantan, emphasising the annual event’s extensive training modules.Also participating in the multinational exercise are Australia, the Netherlands, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Cambodia, Canada, South Korea, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.India-Indonesia tiesThe long standing ties between India and Indonesia took a new turn on July 7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and a joint statement followed announcing ‘cooperation on the BrahMos’ missile.This made Indonesia the third country – after the Philippines and Vietnam—to get the missile, possibly altering the balance in a region that China perceives as its own ‘backyard’.The BrahMos, produced under an India-Russia joint venture, would not by itself provide the three countries parity against the Chinese missile-might, but sets a benchmark of deterrence against unilateral military pressure.Notably, Indonesia sits astride four major straits – the Mallaca, Lumbok, Jattvibeda and Ombai–Wetar – which connect the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. All the four are major shipping arteries and Jakarta, like the other two South East nations have sought mobile coast-based batteries of the missile with abilities to hit target 290 km at sea.