In response to the joint military exercise planned by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Indonesian Navy in the waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan) strongly condemned the provocative actions of the PLA, which seriously infringed upon the sovereignty of Taiwan and posed a threat to regional security. The government pledged to steadfastly defend the nation’s sovereignty and maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced on their official website that in mid-August, the PLA Navy’s Red River ship and the Indonesian Navy’s “Lei” escort ship will conduct a joint navigation exercise in the “eastern waters of Taiwan Island,” focusing on communication drills, maritime replenishment, and other exercises.
The Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan issued a press release condemning the provocative actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that violate Taiwan’s sovereignty and threaten regional security. The CCP has recently been using government vessels for so-called “routine law enforcement patrols,” dispatching research vessels to intrude into Taiwan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for gray zone provocations, and now they are attempting military exercises with other countries in the eastern waters of Taiwan.
The Council stated that the CCP’s actions are a political maneuver of “fake exercises, real expansion,” aiming to create the illusion of jurisdiction over the eastern waters of Taiwan to the international community, while blatantly violating the sovereignty and maritime rights of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
It emphasized that these unilateral actions by the CCP clearly demonstrate its disregard for international norms, its disruption of regional peace and stability, and its challenge to the international order. The CCP is not only a disruptor of cross-strait peace and stability but also a troublemaker that disturbs regional security.
The Mainland Affairs Council reiterated that the government will continue to closely monitor the situation in the vicinity, take necessary and appropriate measures, and firmly defend the national sovereignty and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Earlier, the Council pointed out that the CCP’s claim of wanting to control Taiwan’s related waters under the pretext of the Typhoon Baihu was a violation of international norms such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The irrational and crude statements from relevant CCP departments show ignorance, disregard, and disrespect for international order and norms. It is extremely laughable!
The Council stated that the Taiwan government emphasizes that the CCP has no right to impose any “control” or “jurisdiction” over Taiwan’s maritime areas. Taiwan can handle its own affairs and asks the Beijing authorities to exercise self-restraint, abide by international norms, take care of their own possible disasters, and refrain from meddling in Taiwan’s affairs.