PLA to hold first joint naval drill with Indonesia in waters east of Taiwan

The People's Liberation Army would conduct joint naval training with Indonesia in waters east of Taiwan, Beijing's defence ministry announced on Tuesday.

Scheduled for mid-August, the drill will feature the Chinese navy's Type 054A frigate Honghe and the Indonesian Navy frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai, focusing on communications and at-sea replenishment, according to a statement by the ministry.

"The exercise is aimed at enhancing the two navies' capabilities for joint operations, deepening practical cooperation and contributing to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region," the statement said.

The statement did not specify the distance of the exercise from the Taiwanese coast.

The exercise will be the PLA's first drill with a foreign navy in the area, though the planned activities do not appear to involve combat operations.

Taiwanese authorities on Tuesday protested against the exercise plan, labelling it a "provocation".

The naval exercise follows intensified enforcement patrols east of the self-ruled island since June by mainland Chinese government vessels, including coastguard, maritime administration and search-and-rescue ships. A China Coast Guard fleet was reported to have come within 32 nautical miles (59km) off Hualien, home to a major airbase.

The coastguard said the patrols had been launched in response to Japan and the Philippines announcing plans to begin negotiations on maritime delimitation in waters east of Taiwan, which "seriously violated" Beijing's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China, to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not see the island as an independent state, but many oppose any forcible change to the status quo. Washington is also committed to supplying Taiwan with weapons for its defence.

As cross-strait tensions have grown in recent years, the PLA has stepped up activities around Taiwan, including significant deployments in waters east of the island during several large-scale live-fire exercises.

Yet PLA fighter sorties near Taiwan dropped to a three-year low in the first half of this year, a shift experts attribute in part to a thaw in US-China relations.

In the meantime, tensions persist between China and two US allies in the neighbourhood -- Japan and the Philippines. Sino-Japanese relations have been strained by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks last year suggesting Tokyo could intervene militarily in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Meanwhile, frequent confrontations in the disputed South China Sea continue to worsen ties between Beijing and Manila.

The US, Japan and the Philippines have increased military activities this year, holding multiple joint maritime drills including exercises near the Philippines' northernmost islands, close to Taiwan.

Beijing has sought to strengthen military ties with other major regional powers, including Russia. Last week, Tokyo expressed serious concern after Chinese and Russian warships encircled the country in a joint patrol.

Beijing has also pursued better defence ties with Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy and most populous country.

Last week, the Chinese Type 071 amphibious transport dock ship Kunlunshan and the Qi Jiguang training ship completed a joint maritime training exercise with the Indonesian Navy off Tanjung Perak Port in East Java, following a four-day friendship visit to Surabaya.

During the visit, representatives of China and the East Java provincial government discussed expanding industrial and shipbuilding cooperation, according to local media.