Indonesia says navy drill with China that angered Taiwan was routine

JAKARTA/TAIPEI – Indonesia’s navy said on Aug 12 that joint navy exercises which China said took place to the east of Taiwan are routine and not related to “war fighting”, after Taipei expressed alarm and called them dangerous.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, and in June began coast guard patrols off the island’s east coast, causing anger in Taipei and concern in Washington and some other Western capitals.

The drill, which China described as a “navigation exercise”, was the first time the country has carried out such an operation with a foreign military in those waters.

Taipei calls drill ‘military provocation’

China’s military said Chinese and Indonesian navy vessels concluded the drill in the waters east of Taiwan on the morning of Aug 12.

The exercise included maritime communication, formation manoeuvring and replenishment at sea, and demonstrated the two sides’ willingness to cooperate pragmatically and jointly safeguard regional peace, the Chinese military added.

The Indonesian navy said earlier on Aug 12 that the ship, the I Gusti Ngurah Rai, would conduct “passing exercises”, which were not related to “war fighting”, with countries including China, Japan and the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet while on its way back from a visit to Russia.

These was a “universal naval tradition conducted when transiting through another country’s maritime area”, Indonesian navy spokesperson Tunggul told Reuters, without directly mentioning China.

Late on Aug 11, Taiwan’s China-policymaking Mainland Affairs Council said the drill was a “military provocation” and Beijing should “immediately stop this dangerous behaviour”.

“This is, in reality, political manipulation, ‘exercises in name, expansion in fact’, aimed at creating a false impression before the international community that the Chinese communists have jurisdiction over waters east of Taiwan,” it added.

A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters that China was characterising a normal “passex” interaction as some kind of joint operation with military significance.

“In fact, navies from various countries do this routinely, and Taiwan is no exception,” added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.

No ‘direct’ military impact on Taiwan

Taking lawmaker questions at Parliament in Taipei on Aug 12, Wu Tien-jen, assistant deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence, said the Indonesian warship was on its way back home via Japan rather than coming specifically to take part in the drill.

The ship was some 70 to 80 nautical miles off Taiwan’s east, in the Pacific, he added.

“Militarily this does not have a direct impact on Taiwan,” he said. “It has a geopolitical significance.”

China’s state-backed newspaper the Global Times cited military expert Zhang Junshe as saying the move shows the country’s sovereign rights over the waters east of Taiwan.

“Inviting foreign vessels to conduct training in waters under China’s jurisdiction is entirely normal and reasonable,” Zhang added.

Taiwan holding annual war games

Taiwan is in the midst of its annual Han Kuang war games, where it simulates how to beat back an attempted Chinese attack.

China’s announcement came as US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby met Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at his Jakarta office on Aug 11.

China recognises no sovereignty claims by Taiwan’s government and its military operates around the island on an almost daily basis.

Like most countries, Indonesia has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but the island is home to more than 300,000 Indonesian migrant workers.

Taiwan’s government says only the Taiwanese people can decide their future and has repeatedly denounced Chinese military pressure. REUTERS