Taiwan Opposes Chinese Navy Exercise with Indonesia off East Coast

By Ben Blanchard and Ananda Teresia

TAIPEI/JAKARTA, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Taiwan's government condemned planned Chinese navy drills with an Indonesian warship off its east coast, saying they were dangerous and showed Beijing was trying to create a false impression that it controls those waters.

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.

China's defense ministry said on Tuesday the drill, planned for mid-August, would be a "navigation exercise" with an Indonesian navy ship. It would be the first time China has held a drill with a foreign military in those waters.

The Indonesian navy said on Wednesday that the ship, the I Gusti Ngurah Rai, would conduct "passing exercises" with countries while on its way back from a visit to Russia which were not related to "war fighting."

These were 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 Tuesday, Taiwan's China-policy-making Mainland Affairs Council said the drill was a "military provocation" and Beijing should "immediately stop this dangerous behavior that undermines the status quo."

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, it said in a statement.

"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.

Taking lawmaker questions at parliament in Taipei on Wednesday, Wu Tien-jen, assistant deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence, said the Indonesian warship was on its way back from Japan and 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, 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 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 U.S. Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby met with Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at his Jakarta office on Tuesday.

China recognizes 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.