Taiwan slams China over planned drill with Indonesia east of Taiwan

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) Taiwan's top agency on China has "strongly condemned" Beijing's plan to hold a naval exercise with Indonesia in waters east of Taiwan, calling it a "military provocation" that infringes on Taiwan's sovereignty and threatens regional security.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) urged Beijing to "immediately stop this dangerous act of undermining the status quo" after China's Ministry of National Defense announced the exercises, planned for mid-August, earlier in the day.

The council said China has recently engaged in "gray-zone harassment," citing Beijing's deployment of government vessels on what the Chinese call "routine law enforcement patrols" and of research vessels into Taiwan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

China is now going a step further by seeking to conduct military exercises with "related countries" in waters east of Taiwan, MAC said, accusing Beijing of engaging in "exercises in name, expansion in reality."

The moves are intended to create a "false impression" internationally that Beijing has jurisdiction over waters east of Taiwan, while "blatantly infringing" on Taiwan's sovereignty, and maritime rights and undermining regional peace and stability, MAC said.

Taiwan's government will continue to "closely monitor" the situation and take "necessary and appropriate measures" to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, MAC said, without specifying what those measures might entail.

MAC's statement came hours after China's defense ministry announced at 5:08 p.m. Tuesday that a Chinese Navy ship and an Indonesian Navy frigate would conduct a "navigation exercise" in waters east of Taiwan in mid-August.

The exercise will focus on training activities such as communications drills and replenishment at sea, the ministry said.

It said the exercise was aimed at enhancing the two navies' ability to conduct joint operations, deepening practical cooperation and "jointly safeguarding regional peace and stability."

The Chinese announcement did not specify the exact location or duration of the exercise, or how far the participating vessels would operate from Taiwan.

CNA has contacted Indonesian authorities for comment but had not received a response as of Wednesday morning.

Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, and Indonesia do not have formal diplomatic relations but have representative offices in each other's capitals and extensive economic and labor ties.

Bilateral trade totaled US$11.27 billion in 2025, while more than 335,000 Indonesian migrant workers were in Taiwan as of the end of June 2026, according to Taiwanese government statistics.