Chinese ships are headed off to the coast of Indonesia to take part in the second biennial multilateral naval exercise, a week after the two nations clashed near Natuna Island in the contested South China Sea. During the clash on sea, eight Chinese fishermen were arrested by Indonesia for trespassing.

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According to China's Ministry of Defense, Chinese ships left the port of Qingdao on Saturday to join the Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo (MNEK) run by the Indonesian navy. The exercise is set to commence on April 12.

The naval exercise, which has for this year's theme, "readiness and cooperation for peace," will be conducted in Padang, Indonesia and nearby islands.

50 vessels

Around 50 vessels from China, Russia, United States, France, Australia and 16 other countries will participate in the exercise, the Defense Ministry said.

"Under President Joko Widodo's administration, Indonesia has just launched a new maritime strategy based on five fundamental pillars, namely maritime culture, maritime economy, maritime infrastructure, maritime security and maritime diplomacy," said Admiral Ade Supandi, Chief of the Indonesian Navy. "MNEK 2016 is part of the implementation of the fourth and fifth pillars and it is one of the efforts of the Indonesian Navy to realize Indonesia to become a global maritime axis."

Beijing-Jakarta naval clash

Indonesia and Chinese naval officers clashed this week on the disputed South China Sea after Jakarta accused Beijing of intervening in the arrest of eight fishermen near the Natuna Island in the disputed waters.

Jakarta has accused the fishermen of entering into the its territorial waters. Indonesian authorities claim when they were about to confiscate the fishing vessel, the Chinese coast guard rammed the fishing boat back into international waters.

China has defended the fishermen saying they were fishing in 'traditional Chinese fishing grounds' and has called on Jakarta to free them as soon as possible.

Tension has been mounting in the South China Sea as China takes a proactive approach to assert it's territorial claims.

Several Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei have overlapping claims in the area where $5 trillion worth of trade-borne ships pass yearly.

Tagsmultilateral naval exercises, Indonesia, MNEK, Indonesian navy, Qingdao, April 12, Jakarta, South China Sea, Ministry of Defense, Admiral Ade Supandi, maritime axis