Indonesia Calls China Drill 70-80 Nautical Miles Off Taiwan Routine, Not War-Fighting
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 12
Indonesia Calls China Drill 70-80 Nautical Miles Off Taiwan Routine, Not War-Fighting
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 12
Summary
Indonesia's navy said its exercise with China east of Taiwan was a routine "passing exercise," not a combat drill, after Taipei denounced it as a military provocation.
The Indonesian warship I Gusti Ngurah Rai was returning from Russia and conducting standard transit drills with navies including China, Japan and the U.S. Seventh Fleet, a navy spokesperson said.
Taiwan's military said the ship was 70 to 80 nautical miles off its east coast and posed no direct military impact, though officials said the episode carried geopolitical significance.
China described the operation as its first such drill with a foreign military in those waters and state-backed commentary cast it as evidence of Beijing's claimed jurisdiction east of Taiwan.
The dispute comes as Taiwan runs its annual Han Kuang war games and after China began coast guard patrols off Taiwan's east coast in June, deepening regional concern.