Chinese and Indonesian Navies Complete Passage Exercise in Waters East of Taiwan Island

中印尼海军在台岛以东海域完成通航演练

PLA Daily (解放军报) 14 August 2026

Summary

The PLA Navy frigate Honghe and Indonesian Navy frigate KRI Rhee completed a bilateral maritime passage exercise (海上通航演练) on August 12 in waters east of Taiwan Island, conducting formation maneuvering, underway replenishment, and maritime communications using special tactical signal shorthand (特殊战术信号简语). The location east of Taiwan is the detail the headline buries: the exercise puts a PLA-Indonesian naval formation in waters Beijing routinely frames as contested, lending the activity a political valence beyond routine bilateral mil-mil engagement. The article documents the event as a messaging artifact — the framing around 'jointly safeguarding regional stability' points to an effort to normalize PLA naval presence in that corridor under a multilateral cooperation rationale, though the single-exercise scale limits what can be concluded about operational depth.

A PLA-Indonesian Navy passage exercise conducted specifically in waters east of Taiwan Island is an analytically notable location choice, signaling deliberate use of military diplomacy to normalize PLA naval presence in that area and potentially to demonstrate that third-party navies will operate alongside the PLA in Taiwan-adjacent waters.

Translation

Chinese and Indonesian Navies Complete Passage Exercise in Waters East of Taiwan Island. The PLA Navy frigate Honghe and the Indonesian Navy frigate KRI Rhee take up replenishment positions and conduct an underway replenishment exercise. Photo by Li Tiao.

PLA Daily report by correspondents Qian Xiaohu and special correspondent Tian Peiyu: On the morning of August 12 local time, the PLA Navy frigate Honghe and the Indonesian Navy frigate KRI Rhee successfully completed all scheduled subjects in waters east of Taiwan Island, bringing the maritime passage exercise (海上通航演练) to a close.

Upon arriving at the designated sea area, Honghe and KRI Rhee formed a naval formation and conducted live-force exercises covering subjects including maritime communications, formation maneuvering, underway replenishment, and a parting-of-ways ceremony (分航仪式). Officers and sailors aboard Honghe skillfully employed special tactical signal shorthand (特殊战术信号简语), signal flag semaphore, and other means to conduct maritime communications and transmit instructions with KRI Rhee. Both sides, operating flexibly and in close coordination in accordance with the pre-established exercise plan, successfully accomplished all exercise objectives.

This maritime passage exercise between Chinese and Indonesian naval vessels fully demonstrated both sides' positive will and operational capability for pragmatic cooperation and jointly safeguarding regional stability.

Original Chinese

中印尼海军在台岛以东海域完成通航演练中国海军红河舰与印尼海军“莱”号护卫舰占领补给阵位后开展海上补给演练。李眺摄解放军报讯记者钱晓虎、特约记者田沛羽报道：当地时间8月12日上午，中国海军红河舰与印尼海军“莱”号护卫舰在台岛以东海域圆满完成所有预定科目，海上通航演练落下帷幕。抵达预定海域后，红河舰与印尼海军“莱”号护卫舰组成舰艇编队，围绕海上通信、编队运动、海上补给及分航仪式等科目开展实兵演练。红河舰官兵熟练运用特殊战术信号简语、信号旗语等，与印尼海军“莱”号护卫舰进行海上通联与指令传达。双方按照预先拟制的演练方案，灵活机动，协同配合，顺利完成所有演练目标。此次中印尼海军舰艇海上通航演练，充分展示了双方务实合作、共同维护地区稳定的积极意愿和行动能力。