Indonesia calls joint drill with China near Taiwan 'routine'

Indonesia’s navy said Wednesday that exercises China said it held with Indonesian vessels east of Taiwan were routine passing exercises and not related to "war fighting", after Taipei condemned them as dangerous.

China’s military said Chinese and Indonesian navy vessels concluded the drill in waters east of Taiwan on Wednesday morning, according to Reuters. It described the activity as a "navigation exercise" involving maritime communication, formation manoeuvring and replenishment at sea, and said it showed willingness to cooperate and safeguard regional peace.

The Indonesian navy said its ship, the I Gusti Ngurah Rai, would conduct "passing exercises" with countries including China, Japan and the U.S. navy’s Seventh Fleet while returning from a visit to Russia. Indonesian navy spokesperson Tunggul told Reuters the exercises were a "universal naval tradition conducted when transiting through another country's maritime area".

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said late Tuesday the drill was a "military provocation" and said Beijing should "immediately stop this dangerous behaviour." A senior Taiwanese security official told Reuters that China was characterising a normal "passex" interaction as a joint operation with military significance, adding: "In fact, navies from various countries do this routinely, and Taiwan is no exception."

Wu Tien-jen, assistant deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence, told lawmakers in Taipei that the Indonesian warship was returning home via Japan and was not coming specifically for the drill. He said the ship was 70 to 80 nautical miles off Taiwan’s east coast in the Pacific, adding: "Militarily this does not have a direct impact on Taiwan" and "It has a geopolitical significance."

The U.S. State Department said Washington urged China to "cease its continuous military pressure against Taiwan" and called on other countries not to amplify Beijing’s narratives. Reuters reported that China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, began coast guard patrols off Taiwan’s east coast in June, and operates militarily around the island almost daily.