The navies of China and Indonesia are set to carry out joint naval exercises in mid-August in waters east of Taiwan, an unprecedented maneuver that Taipei has condemned.
In a statement released Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Defense said the frigate Honghe and an Indonesian warship will conduct exercises focused on communications and at-sea resupply, without specifying an exact date or location. According to the ministry, the maneuvers aim to improve joint operational capabilities, deepen cooperation, and contribute to maintaining regional peace and stability.
Analyst Zhang Junshe told Chinese state newspaper Global Times that this will be the first naval exercise between China and a foreign country in waters east of Taiwan, an area where Beijing’s presence has grown significantly since late May, with the deployment of research vessels and coast guard ships. “Inviting foreign ships to train in waters under one’s own jurisdiction is normal and reasonable,” the expert said.
China not only claims sovereignty over Taiwan, a self-governed island since 1949, but also considers the surrounding maritime areas to be its own, a position the Taiwanese government firmly rejects.
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In Taipei, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the government body responsible for relations with China, condemned the exercises on Tuesday, stressing that they seek to “project a false image to the international community that the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] holds jurisdiction over the waters east of Taiwan.”
“These unilateral actions fully expose the CCP’s repeated disregard for international norms, its sabotage of regional peace and stability, and its challenge to the international order,” the MAC stated.
The council added that Taipei “will continue to closely monitor” the situation and “will take necessary and appropriate measures to firmly defend national sovereignty, peace and stability” in the strait.
In a separate statement, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today it had “immediately sought” information about the situation from “all parties involved” and requested that Indonesia “clarify the matter,” without providing further details. “As a responsible member of the region, [Taiwan] will maintain its firm position of territorial defense and actively safeguard sovereignty and sovereign rights over the waters east of our country,” the ministry said.
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Although it does not maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei, Indonesia represents one of the largest immigrant communities in Taiwan, with more than 300,000 residents.
The announcement of the maneuvers coincided with a visit to Jakarta by U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, who met on Tuesday with Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. During the meeting, Sjafrie emphasized that cooperation with Washington should strengthen Indonesia’s defense autonomy and ruled out establishing American military bases in the Asian country, according to statements released by the minister’s office.
The naval exercises between China and Indonesia, not yet confirmed by Jakarta, could take place in parallel with the final phase of the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s main annual military drills, which conclude on August 14.
