Indonesian Frigate Joins PLAN Drill Off Taiwan
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai joined a 'passing exercise' with PLAN frigate Honghe in waters off Taiwan's east coast on August 12, during Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military drill.
- Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council condemned Beijing's 'provocation' after China announced the drill on August 11, and Taipei asked Indonesia's Foreign Ministry for 'further details.'
- Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said the frigate was returning from Vladivostok, Russia — where it had completed exercises with the Russian navy — and described its presence as 'simply part of its transit route back to Indonesia.'
- Indonesian Navy stated the activities were 'not warfighting activities in nature' and 'not intended as combat training,' while Tamkang University's Ying-Yu Lin said the drill had 'little tactical significance' but let China 'claim its capability in the waters.'
- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto met US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby in Jakarta the same day as the drill; Indonesia has also granted blanket US military aircraft overflights of its airspace.
- Ratih Kabinawa of the Japan Institute of International Affairs warned Indonesia was 'dragged into this kind of geopolitical gambit' and told Jakarta 'not to be too naive' about Chinese naval signaling toward Taiwan.
- Indonesia has approximately 350,000 citizens in Taiwan — the largest foreign resident group — making mass evacuation, not combat involvement, the more likely Indonesian role in any Taiwan contingency, per Kabinawa.
Why it matters: Indonesia's 'free and active' nonaligned posture is now visibly squeezed: the same day its frigate drilled with China's PLAN off Taiwan, President Prabowo hosted US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby in Jakarta. With 350,000 Indonesian citizens in Taiwan — the largest foreign resident group — any Taiwan contingency puts Jakarta on the hook for mass evacuation rather than military action.
Ask SkimNews
