War games in the Pacific: Beijing enlists Indonesia for 'dangerous' exercise off the coast of Taiwan

The Taiwan government has strongly condemned the Chinese navy's plan to hold a joint military exercise with an Indonesian warship off the island's east coast, calling the move "dangerous." According to Taipei, Beijing is attempting to create a false impression before the international community that it controls these territorial waters.

According to a report by the Reuters news agency, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced that the exercise, expected to take place in mid-August at an unspecified location east of Taiwan, will be a "navigation exercise" that will include a ship from the Indonesian navy. This is a highly unusual step, as China does not typically hold military exercises with foreign countries near Taiwan, which it views as an inseparable part of its sovereign territory. The move follows patrols by the Chinese coast guard that began last June and raised concerns in Taipei, Washington, and other Western capitals.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council defined the exercise as a "military provocation" and called on Beijing to "immediately stop this dangerous behavior that undermines the status quo." The Council's statement said that this is a "political manipulation, 'an exercise in name, expansion in practice,' aimed at creating a mistaken impression that the Chinese communists have jurisdiction over the waters east of Taiwan." At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei has approached Indonesia with a request for official clarifications regarding its participation.

During a parliamentary discussion in Taipei yesterday, Wu Tien-chen, Assistant Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence, noted that the Indonesian warship is on its way back from Japan and did not arrive specifically to train with the Chinese navy. According to him, the ship is located about 70 to 80 nautical miles east of Taiwan, in the Pacific Ocean.

"From a military perspective, this has no direct impact on Taiwan," Wu emphasized, "but it has geopolitical significance."

The Chinese announcement of the exercise comes at a sensitive time, as Taiwan is in the midst of its annual "Han Kuang" war games, in which it simulates repelling an attack from China. Simultaneously, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, met in Jakarta with Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. The minister clarified that the expansion of security cooperation with the US does not indicate an intention to establish an American military base in Indonesia.

Although there are no official diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Taiwan, the island is home to more than 300,000 Indonesian migrant workers. According to Reuters reports, the Indonesian navy and Ministry of Defense chose not to officially comment on the matter. Taiwan, for its part, continues to emphasize that only its citizens will determine their future, and continues to denounce the increasing military pressure from Beijing.