The Indonesian Army is training alongside Australian and US forces in humanitarian response

More than 600 kilometres from Darwin, in the remote East Arnhem Land village of Nhulunbuy, 130 US Marines, Australian Defence Force, and Indonesian military troops engaged in a very elaborate game of pretend this week.

In the imaginary nation of 'Belesia,' they're responding to 'Tropical Cyclone Sophia.'

As part of the Crocodile Response training exercise, the three forces were dispatched to help a made-up village with no running water, cut-off roads, unsuitable airstrips, and displaced people.

"A storm hit during the drill, and there was some very widespread damage," said Major Tim Murphy of the Australian Army.

"There has been damage to the hospital system, the township's freshwater supply, and residences and basic infrastructure, so this is a difficult area for the local community to live under the present limits, and we're here to help."

The Australian Army and Darwin-based US Marines participate in this yearly humanitarian relief training exercise.

The fictional country, which is based in a decommissioned mining camp on the Gove Peninsula, was created exclusively for military training, with made-up countries like Belesia imitating actual ones with their own fictional governments, social issues, and currencies.

The Australian Army received the Decisive Action Training Environment (DATE) simulation system from the US in 2018, and the make-believe training areas and scenarios were meant to mimic parts of the Middle East and Indo-Pacific regions.