Jakarta will do it with anybody.
Though Indonesia conducts military exercises with Japan and the United States, it doesn’t seem to have any compunction about also participating in a “navigation exercise” with the People’s Republic of China “in the sensitive waters off Taiwan’s east coast.” Taipei called the drills a “military provocation” (Jakarta Globe, August 12, 2026).
Indonesian Navy spokesman Tunggul confirmed on Wednesday that the warship in question was the KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai-332. The frigate is taking part in the Russian bilateral exercise Orruda in Vladivostok, but will run passing drills “with countries that it passes by” on the way home. Tunggul initially avoided mentioning China and the other stops by name, but eventually spilled more details in a separate statement.
“The KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai-332 ship will hold passing exercises with the navies of countries that it passes by, including Japan, China, and the US Seventh Fleet,” Tunggul told the Jakarta Globe later that day….
Tunggul described the passing exercises “as a form of interaction to build communication, trust, good relations, and the spirit of friendship between navies”. He also framed the drills as a “maritime diplomacy” move. He reiterated that the drills were not intended for war-fighting, while saying that Indonesia’s non-aligned “free and active” foreign policy means that Jakarta is “open to working with all countries”.
It’s the kind of “free and active” nonalignment nothing to do with war-fighting that just happens to be congenial to Beijing and a slap in the face to Taipei, which the mainland is constantly harassing militarily and otherwise. But the Indonesian government doesn’t know anything about that, was just trying to be maritimely diplomatic in a spirit of friendship. Sorry, Republic of China on Taiwan, if you took it the wrong way for some reason.
PRC sources state that the exercise with Indonesia was completed on the morning of August 12. According to a statement issued by the Chinese military, “the exercise demonstrated the two navies’ willingness and capability to conduct practical cooperation and jointly contribute to regional peace and stability.”
