(VOVworld) - Navies from 17 countries began a six-day joint exercise Saturday in the East Sea to improve coordinated efforts to deal with natural disasters.

Vietnam's naval force  joins the exercise (Photo: QDND)

The exercise involves 4,885 navy personnel from the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its seven dialogue partners from China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The United Nations, the European Union, the Netherlands, Spain and the ASEAN Secretariat are also participating as observers. Djoko Suyanto, Indonesian coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said the exercise aims to help better organize international assistance in future natural disasters. Lieutenant Colonel Agus Cahyono, spokesman for the Western Fleet of the Indonesian Navy, said the exercise is expected to provide more knowledge on disaster mitigation for navy officers in the region, as well as to harmonize various national, regional and international protocols in this matter. The exercise is being held as a follow-up to the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response.