Indonesia's Neutrality Questioned After Naval Exercise With China Near Taiwan

An Indonesian frigate joined a naval exercise with China's People's Liberation Army Navy on August 12 in waters off the east coast of Taiwan. The Indonesian Navy frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai participated in what Jakarta described as a passing exercise with the PLAN guided missile frigate Honghe. The maneuvers occurred during Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military drill. An Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson acknowledged the sensitivity of the location but stated the vessel was simply on its transit route back to Indonesia. Reports from the Taipei Times indicate the vessel was returning from an exercise with the Russian navy in Vladivostok.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council condemned the drill as a provocation by Beijing and requested further details from the Indonesian government. In response to reactions from Taipei and Washington, the Indonesian Navy clarified that the activities were not intended as combat training and were not warfighting activities in nature. Ying Yu Lin, an associate professor at Taiwan's Tamkang University, noted that while the exercise had little tactical significance, it allowed China to claim capability in those waters.

Ratih Kabinawa, a fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, suggested that Indonesia has been dragged into a geopolitical gambit and should not have been naive to assume the exercise would not cause concern in Taiwan. The event has highlighted Indonesia's free and active foreign policy, which seeks to maintain neutrality between the US and China. On the same day as the exercise, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto met with US undersecretary of defense Elbridge Colby in Jakarta. While Prabowo also visits Chinese President Xi Jinping, Jakarta has previously allowed US military aircraft blanket overflight access to its airspace.