Indonesia hosted non-combat military exercises of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the North Natuna Sea, south of the South China Sea. It is the first time that a joint naval exercise has been organized under the umbrella of this association since its founding 56 years ago. About 1500,8 military personnel and eight ships from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei took part in the exercises. Indonesia has worked over the past decades to consolidate its right to the part that surrounds its islands or archipelago.