JAKARTA/TAIPEI, Aug 12 — Indonesia's Navy said that planned joint navy exercises, which China says will take place east of Taiwan, are routine and unrelated 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.
Yesterday, China's Defence Ministry said that the drill, planned for mid-August, would be a "navigation exercise" with an Indonesian navy ship. This marks the first time that China has held a drill with a foreign military in those waters.
The Indonesian Navy said that the ship, the I Gusti Ngurah Rai, would conduct "passing exercises" with other countries while on its way back from a visit to Russia, and that these were unrelated to "war fighting".
Its spokesman Tunggul told Reuters today that there was a "universal naval tradition conducted when transiting through another country's maritime area", without directly mentioning China.
Late yesterday, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees China policy, said the drill was a "military provocation" and that Beijing should "immediately stop this dangerous behaviour."
It added that following a recent series of Chinese actions, including so-called "routine law-enforcement patrols" to the east of Taiwan, China is now attempting to conduct military exercises with "relevant countries" in waters east of Taiwan.
"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," the council said in a statement.
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.
China's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
No 'direct' military impact on Taiwan
Taking lawmaker questions at Parliament in Taipei today, the General Staff for Intelligence's assistant deputy chief Wu Tien-jen said the Indonesian warship was on its way home via Japan and was not coming specifically to take part in the drill.
The ship was some 70 to 80 nautical miles off Taiwan's east, in the Pacific.
"Militarily, this does not have a direct impact on Taiwan. It has a geopolitical significance," he said.
China's state-backed newspaper The Global Times cited military expert Zhang Junshe as saying the move demonstrates 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," he said.
Taiwan holding annual war games
Taiwan is currently conducting its annual Han Kuang war games, in which it simulates how to repel a Chinese attack.
China's announcement came as United States Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby met with Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at his Jakarta office yesterday.
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.
Taipei has continuously stated that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future and has repeatedly denounced Chinese military pressure.
