Taiwan Condemns China's Navy Drill with Indonesia as 'Military Provocation'

TAIPEI: Taiwan has condemned China's plan to hold a navy drill with Indonesia this month off the democratic island's east coast, saying Beijing seeks to create the "false impression" that it has jurisdiction over the area. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and insists it has authority over the waters surrounding the island, which Taipei rejects. The Chinese defence ministry said Tuesday one of its warships and an Indonesian frigate will conduct a "passage exercise" east of Taiwan in mid-August to "enhance the joint operational capabilities of the two navies" and "jointly safeguard regional peace and stability". Taiwan's top China policy body hit back late Tuesday, saying it "strongly condemned the CCP military provocation", referring to the Chinese Communist Party. "This move is, in reality... aimed at creating the false impression for the international community that the CCP has jurisdiction over waters east of Taiwan and blatantly infringing upon our national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a statement. The Indonesian military did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.