Taipei, Taiwan - Taiwan condemned China's plan to hold a major navy drill with Indonesia off the coast of the self-ruled island later this month, claiming Beijing is trying to exert "false" jurisdiction over the area.
The Chinese defense ministry on Tuesday said one of its warships and an Indonesian frigate will conduct a "passage exercise" east of Taiwan in mid-August.
It's goal, Beijing claims, is to "enhance the joint operational capabilities of the two navies" and "jointly safeguard regional peace and stability."
In response to the announcement, Taiwan's top China policy body hit back late on 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 the AFP's request for comment.
China's announcement came as Taiwan holds its largest military drills of the year, aimed at preparing its population for a potential Chinese invasion.
Beijing deploys warships, fighter jets, and coast guard vessels around Taiwan on an almost daily basis to assert its claim of sovereignty.
In June, Chinese ships began to patrol an area of the Western Pacific near Taiwan's east coast, which Taipei branded as "provocative" and "expansionism in disguise."
During that operation, China's Coast Guard for the first time radioed cargo ships passing Taiwan for information about their crew and destination.
That was followed last week by China's Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration announcing "traffic control measures" for the Taiwan Strait as Typhoon Dolphin swept towards the region.