China’s defence ministry said on Tuesday the drill, to take place in mid-August at a location east of Taiwan it did not detail, would be a “navigation exercise” with an Indonesian navy ship

Taiwan’s government has condemned “dangerous” planned Chinese navy drills with an Indonesian warship off the island’s east coast, saying Beijing was trying to create a false impression to the international community that it controls those waters.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, and in June began coast guard patrols off the island’s east coast, causing anger in Taipei and concern in Washington and some other Western capitals.

 China’s defence ministry said on Tuesday the drill, to take place in mid-August at a location east of Taiwan it did not detail, would be a “navigation exercise” with an Indonesian navy ship. Late on Tuesday, Taiwan‘s China-policy-making Mainland Affairs Council said the drill was a “military provocation” and Beijing should “immediately stop this dangerous behaviour that undermines

the status quo.”

 China’s navy will conduct joint drills with Indonesia to the east of Taiwan, the first time that Beijing has publicly announced a training for both forces in waters that have become increasingly fraught with tensions. The two navies have exercised together previously, but this marks the first time that Beijing is working with a foreign country in those waters.