The Chinese military said on Wednesday, Aug. 12, that Chinese and Indonesian naval vessels had concluded a joint exercise in waters east of Taiwan that morning, according to Reuters. The exercise included maritime communications, formation maneuvers and replenishment at sea.
The joint China-Indonesia exercise in waters near Taiwan has drawn attention from Taiwan and the United States. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned Beijing for disregarding international norms and responsibilities and escalating regional tensions.
The U.S. State Department urged Beijing to stop its continued military pressure on Taiwan and called on other countries to encourage a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues rather than amplify Beijing’s destabilizing rhetoric, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, which cited a State Department spokesperson.
CCP and Indonesia conduct exercise in waters east of Taiwan
China’s Ministry of National Defense announced on Aug. 11 that the Chinese and Indonesian navies would conduct a joint “navigation exercise” in waters east of Taiwan in mid-August, involving China’s Honghe and Indonesia’s KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai, according to the Financial Times and subsequent Chinese military reporting.
Indonesian Navy spokesman Tunggul responded on Wednesday, Aug. 12, confirming that an Indonesian naval vessel had participated in an exercise in Vladivostok, Russia, and, while returning to Indonesia, conducted “passing exercises” (PASSEX) with the navies of countries along its route. Tunggul’s statement did not directly mention China.
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Latest reports said that Indonesia characterized the activity as a routine “passing exercise” rather than a combat-oriented drill. Reuters also reported that the Indonesian vessel was returning from Russia and that the exercise took place roughly 70–80 nautical miles east of Taiwan.
Indonesia’s authorities said that the exercise was not “combat-oriented,” but rather a customary and widely recognized practice in which navies conduct routine exercises when passing through another country’s waters, reported Reuters.
Indonesia said such passing exercises are a “universal naval tradition” conducted while transiting near another country’s maritime area and were not related to “war fighting,” according to Reuters.
The PLA Eastern Theater Command announced on the evening of Aug. 12 that the Chinese navy’s Honghe and Indonesia’s KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai had concluded their maritime exercise in waters east of Taiwan that morning after completing all scheduled activities, including maritime communications, formation maneuvers, replenishment at sea, and a vessel-separation ceremony.
US State Department calls for an end to military pressure on Taiwan
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said on the evening of Aug. 12 that Washington urged Beijing to stop its continued military pressure on Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan. At the same time, the spokesperson “called on other countries to encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues, rather than amplify Beijing’s destabilizing rhetoric,” according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA).
John Dotson, director of the Washington-based Global Taiwan Institute, told reporters that Japan and the Philippines, concerned about the CCP’s provocative actions and the possibility of a military crisis in the Taiwan Strait, have consequently developed increasingly close quasi-alliance ties. “Beijing is now pushing back against this,” he said.
Dotson said Beijing is seeking to draw its own regional partners closer while also attempting to use the current situation as a pretext to expand its naval presence in waters east of Taiwan. The “exercise” with the Indonesian frigate therefore appears to be a step toward achieving both objectives.
“It’s a small step, but it has very strong symbolic significance.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry condemns disregard for international norms
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) strongly condemned the incident. In a statement issued on the morning of Aug. 12, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said that Beijing had once again disregarded international norms and responsibilities and further heightened regional tensions. The ministry strongly condemned what it described as Beijing’s arbitrary and irresponsible conduct.
The ministry said that after Beijing unilaterally announced that Indonesia would participate in the so-called “exercise,” Taiwan immediately sought information from the relevant parties and asked Indonesia to clarify the situation. It said that, among the parties operating around the First Island Chain, only the authorities in Beijing engage in such “maliciously provocative and irresponsible unilateral actions” that create insecurity and threats to the region.
The Foreign Ministry emphasized that, as a responsible member of the region, Taiwan would maintain its longstanding position of defending its territory, actively safeguard its sovereignty and sovereign rights in the waters east of Taiwan, and work with regional partners to ensure freedom of navigation and regional security and stability.
Mainland Affairs Council condemns CCP provocation
Separately, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement on Aug. 11 titled “MAC Strongly Condemns the CCP’s Provocative Actions Violating Taiwan’s National Sovereignty and Threatening Regional Security.” It said that the CCP had recently carried out a series of actions, including deploying government-vessel formations for so-called “routine law-enforcement patrols” and sending scientific research vessels into Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for gray-zone incursions. Beijing was now attempting to use joint military exercises with other countries in waters east of Taiwan to further its objectives.
The MAC said the move was essentially a case of “pretending to conduct an exercise while actually pursuing expansion”—a form of political manipulation intended to create the false impression in the international community that the CCP has jurisdiction over the waters east of Taiwan, while blatantly infringing on the sovereignty and maritime rights of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
The MAC stressed that these unilateral actions fully expose Beijing’s repeated disregard for international norms, its disruption of regional peace and stability, and its challenge to the international order. It said the CCP is not only a “destroyer of cross-Strait peace and stability” but also a “troublemaker” disrupting regional security.
The MAC said the government would continue to closely monitor developments in the surrounding areas, take necessary and appropriate measures, and firmly safeguard national sovereignty and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s condemnation is consistent with broader reporting that Taipei viewed the China-Indonesia naval activity as a potential attempt by Beijing to create the impression that it exercises jurisdiction over waters east of Taiwan, reported Focus Taiwan, CNA’s english media.
CCP ‘pretends to enforce the law while actually expanding its jurisdiction’
In recent years, the CCP has conducted “fake law enforcement, real jurisdiction expansion” gray-zone harassment in waters east of and surrounding Taiwan, seeking to create the impression in the international community that it has jurisdiction over these waters through routine patrols and unilateral controls. The aim, according to Taiwan, is to infringe upon the sovereignty and maritime rights of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Taiwan has specifically cited China’s increasing maritime law-enforcement activity east of the island as part of this broader pattern of gray-zone pressure, according to Focus Taiwan.
The CCP has primarily used the following methods for political manipulation and maritime expansion:
1. “Real expansion disguised as a maritime exercise:”
Through the navigation exercise with an Indonesian warship in waters east of Taiwan in mid-August. Beijing described the activity as a navigation exercise involving communications and replenishment drills. Taiwan, however, accused Beijing of attempting to create a false impression that it exercises jurisdiction over the waters, according to Global Times.
2. Launching a special law-enforcement operation:
Amid discussions between Japan and the Philippines over overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs), the CCP launched the “Special Maritime Traffic Law Enforcement Operation in the Waters East of Taiwan” in early June. It deployed China Coast Guard vessels to patrol waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast and restricted areas, creating what Taiwan described as the appearance of Chinese jurisdiction. The operation was reportedly launched on June 6 under China’s Ministry of Transport, with China Coast Guard support, according to Observing China.
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