Taiwan Outraged as China and Indonesia Plan Naval Exercise

The Taiwanese government has condemned China’s plan to hold a joint naval exercise with Indonesia this month off Taiwan’s eastern coast. Taiwan’s government stated that Beijing is seeking to create a “false impression” that it has jurisdiction over the area.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and insists it has authority over the waters surrounding the island, a claim rejected by Taiwan.

China’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that one of its warships and an Indonesian frigate would conduct a “sailing exercise” east of Taiwan in mid-August to “enhance the combined operational capabilities of the two navies and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability”.

Taiwan’s top policy-making body on China, the Mainland Affairs Council, condemned the planned military exercise, saying it “strongly condemns the CCP’s military provocations”, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

“This move, in fact… aims to create a false impression for the international community that the CCP has jurisdiction over the waters east of Taiwan and blatantly violates our national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” the Council said in a statement.

The Indonesian military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China’s announcement came as Taiwan holds its largest military exercises of the year, aimed at preparing its population for a potential Chinese invasion. Beijing deploys warships, fighter jets, and coast guard vessels around Taiwan almost daily to assert its sovereignty claims. Earlier in June, Chinese ships began patrolling the Western Pacific area near Taiwan’s east coast, which Taipei called “provocative” and “covert expansionism”.