According to an international relations observer from the University of Pertamina, Indra Kusumawardhana, the United States wants to show its availability as a guarantor of the region’s security through Garuda Shield.

Additionally, the Garuda Shield that took place this time also involved countries that tend to have alliances with the United States, such as Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, France, England , Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Papua New Guinea and Timor. Weighted.

“Through a joint exercise involving several other militarily inclined countries (US), they want to send the message to the region that the United States is ready to become a world leader. guarantors of security if there is instability in the Asian region,” he explained to Political news agency RMOL PolitikWednesday (10/8).

Garuda Shield 2022 involves 2,000 members of the Indonesian military, 2,000 US troops and additional partners from partner nations. This year, the exercises will take place in Baturaja (Riau Islands), Amborawang (East Kalimantan) and Palembang.

Many people say that the Garuda Shield was held by the United States to block China’s power in the region. Moreover, this exercise was conducted in the context of rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Even so, Indra felt that the Garuda shield could not be considered American preparation to deal with a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan. Instead, it is simply a US response to China’s military prowess near Taiwan.

“From my point of view, we are not yet at the stage where the United States and its allies think that China will attack Taiwan, so we must prepare for combat exercises,” he said.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalated after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei on Aug. 2, 2022, sparking Chinese anger.

Beijing then announced massive military exercises around Taiwan, including the firing of several missiles near the island’s waters.