China Uses Indonesia Drill to Claim Taiwan Waters Jurisdiction
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- China's PLAN and an Indonesian Navy warship conducted a joint navigation exercise east of Taiwan on August 12 — the first time China had exercised with a foreign military in those geopolitically sensitive waters.
- Taiwan called the exercise 'political manipulation' aimed at creating a 'false impression' of Chinese jurisdiction over the waters; the United States called on China to cease military pressure against Taiwan.
- The Global Times quoted military affairs expert Zhang Junshe saying the exercise demonstrated 'China's sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the exclusive economic zone east of Taiwan island.'
- Indonesia's Navy downplayed the drill as a 'limited joint training or passing exercise' consistent with its 'free and active' foreign policy, noting the same vessel had also conducted similar exercises with Japan's navy and the US Seventh Fleet.
- China's Coast Guard has established a semi-permanent presence in waters east of Taiwan since early June, following Japan-Philippines EEZ delimitation talks.
- Since the DPP won the presidency in 2016, Taiwan's diplomatic allies have dropped from 23 to 12, while Beijing has pushed a stricter One China principle globally — Papua New Guinea closed Taiwan's representative office in July, and Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, and Zambia have restricted Taiwanese passport holders.
- A Taiwanese intelligence officer said the exercise 'does not have a direct impact on Taiwan. It has a geopolitical significance.'
Why it matters: Indonesia's refusal to explicitly contest Beijing's framing gives China soft validation of its jurisdictional claims over waters east of Taiwan without Indonesia ever endorsing them. With Taiwan's diplomatic allies already cut from 23 to 12 since 2016, this deniable, low-cost form of third-country participation lets Beijing accumulate de facto international recognition of its One China principle without overt endorsement.
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