Two navies rehearse the eastern approaches on the same morning

On 12 August 2026 Taiwan's navy and coast guard conducted their first joint anti-blockade exercise, escorting a simulated merchant vessel — a Yushan-class landing platform dock standing in for the merchantman — through waters off the east coast to Hualien and Suao, where the cargo was offloaded and moved inland. A minesweeper cleared and marked the channel. The Coast Guard Administration described the purpose as cross-agency coordinated response and maritime defence resilience; it was the first time the administration had run an anti-blockade drill with the navy. On the same morning, between roughly 06:30 and 09:30, the PLA Navy Type 054A frigate Honghe and the Indonesian navy frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai conducted a joint exercise in waters east of Taiwan covering formation manoeuvring, maritime communications and replenishment at sea. It was the first exercise China has conducted with a foreign navy in those waters and the first it has publicly announced there. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council condemned the announcement as an infringement of sovereignty and a threat to regional security, and Taipei asked Jakarta to explain its participation; Indonesia said the exercise was not threatening. The US State Department urged Beijing to stop military pressure on Taiwan. Chinese presence east of the island has grown since Beijing began what it calls law-enforcement patrols there in June 2026.