Jakarta, March 16 -- Indonesia's navy has intensified anti-access and anti-area denial (A2/AD) exercises to protect its waters and curb smuggling of strategic natural resources, part of a broader push to tighten maritime law enforcement.

Rear Admiral Yayan Sofiyan, the navy's assistant chief of naval staff for operations, said the drills show concrete support for the president's directive to strengthen maritime law enforcement across Indonesian waters.

Recently, the Indonesian Navy conducted anti-access and anti-area denial exercises, Yayan said on Sunday during the departure ceremony for a free Eid homecoming voyage aboard KRI Semarang-594 in North Jakarta.

He said anti-access operations are traditionally designed to disrupt an advers...