[Cross-Strait] Hong Pu-chao Column: China Brings Third Countries into Eastern Taiwan; Indonesia is Just the Beginning
RtiTalk 小編11d ago
China's Ministry of National Defense announced that in mid-August, the Chinese Navy's frigate 'Honghe' will conduct a transit exercise with the Indonesian Navy's frigate 'Raden Eddy Martadinata' in the 'waters east of the island of Taiwan,' with subjects including communication drills and replenishment at sea. China's military activities around the Taiwan Strait are not new; recently, it has also conducted military training in the South China Sea. What has drawn attention this time is the participation of the Indonesian Navy. Indonesia has long maintained strategic autonomy between the US and China, so naval exchanges with China are not surprising. However, the choice of eastern Taiwan as the location for this exercise carries political significance in itself. For China, the presence of a third country's navy in what it calls the 'waters east of the island of Taiwan' serves a narrative and political purpose.
Indonesia is Not Leaning Towards China
Naval exchanges between Indonesia and China have existed for some time. In May of this year, the Indonesian Navy's training ship 'Bimasuci' visited Shanghai. This warship had also visited twice before in 2019 and 2024. Indonesia's military cooperation with the United States and other regional countries is even deeper. Last year's 'Super Garuda Shield' involved thirteen countries, and this year's exercise plans already involve interoperability in joint command and control, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) information, data sharing, and multi-domain operations.
This Sino-Indonesian naval exercise is insufficient to indicate a shift in Indonesia's security policy towards China. Indonesia's deep military cooperation with the US and regional partners, while maintaining naval exchanges with China, aligns with its long-term foreign policy choice of strategic autonomy. However, the choice of eastern Taiwan as the exercise location changes the situation.
Not Choosing Sides Cannot Erase the Political Significance of the Location
If China and the Indonesian Navy were to conduct transit, communication, and replenishment exercises in the Java Sea or the open ocean, it could be considered normal naval exchange. However, this time, China's Ministry of National Defense explicitly announced the location as the 'waters east of the island of Taiwan.' Indonesia may not choose sides between the US and China, but it cannot make the exercise location devoid of political effect.
In the past, Chinese military aircraft and warships entering the waters east of Taiwan were unilateral military activities by China. With the Indonesian Navy's participation this time, China can link third-country warships with the 'waters east of the island of Taiwan.' Regardless of how Indonesia understands this exercise, China has obtained usable political material.
What China Wants is Third-Party Participation
In recent years, China has been sending military vessels, coast guard ships, and research vessels into the air and sea areas around Taiwan, naming these spaces with its own political language and establishing a normalized presence through frequent activities. This Sino-Indonesian exercise brings in a third country. Chinese warships entering eastern Taiwan are unilateral military actions. Once a third country's navy participates in low-sensitivity exercises like transit and replenishment, China can package its military activities around Taiwan as general international naval exchanges. Indonesia has the right to decide who to cooperate with, but the exercise location and how China utilizes this cooperation also involve Indonesia's own interests. While Indonesia pursues strategic autonomy, China can transform Indonesia's participation into resources for its political narrative towards Taiwan.
Who Will Follow Indonesia?
China has only recently brought more military forces into the waters east of Taiwan, and now a third country's navy is participating. Indonesia is just the first case. In the future, China can invite more countries with close ties to it to enter the waters east of Taiwan for low-sensitivity exercises such as transit, replenishment, and search and rescue. The scale of the exercises and the intensity of combat operations are not important; having more third-country warships appear in these waters can accumulate political effects and establish faits accomplis.
Taiwan cannot wait until the second or third country appears to condemn each case. The government should monitor China's naval cooperation with other countries and proactively explain its position through diplomatic channels to prevent more countries from being drawn into the narrative space China has set for Taiwan. Taiwan's diplomatic efforts must stay ahead of China's operations. (Editor: Chen Wen-wei)
Further Reading
PLA claims mid-August exercise with Indonesian Navy in waters east of Taiwan
PLA claims exercise with Indonesia in waters east of Taiwan; Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns disregard for international norms
Author: Hong Pu-chao, Full-time University Teacher, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Mainland China and Regional Development Studies, Tunghai University
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=225865
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