Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Passing Exercise TNI AL is part of Maritime Diplomacy and Active Free Polugri

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has confirmed that the passing exercise (Passex) carried out by the Indonesian Navy with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA) is not a war exercise, part of maritime diplomacy and in line with the free and active foreign policy (Polugri).

This was explained by the Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yvonne Mewengkang, regarding reports on exercises conducted by the TNI AL ship of the Fregat type KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai (332) with the PLA AL ship of the Fregat Type 054A Honghe near Taiwan waters.

"Passing excersice is not a combat exercise," Yvonne said in a press statement in Jakarta, Thursday (13/8).

Referring to the information provided by the Indonesian Navy Public Information Service, Yvonne also emphasized that "what the Indonesian warship did was a lazy practice carried out between the navies of various countries when the ship crossed an area."

"For Indonesia, this kind of interaction is part of maritime diplomacy," he explained.

Yvonne said, "the sea is not only a space that connects countries, but also a space to build cooperation and mutual trust."

"Passing exercises are in line with Indonesia's active free polugri and we are always open to cooperation and building constructive relations with partner countries," he said.

As previously reported, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced plans for a maritime navigation exercise between their navy and the Indonesian navy in waters east of Taiwan, quoted from Xinhua.

The exercise, which was later announced by the Chinese Ministry of Defense, was completed on Wednesday, including communication exercises and supply operations at sea.

The Taiwanese government has condemned the joint exercise plan as "dangerous", saying Beijing is trying to create the wrong impression in the eyes of the international community that they control the waters, Reuters reported.

When answering questions from lawmakers in Taipei on Wednesday, Wu Tien-jen - assistant deputy chief of the general intelligence staff - said the Indonesian warship that China said would participate was actually on its way home from Japan, not coming specifically to train with the Chinese navy.

The ship was about 70 to 80 nautical miles east of Taiwan, in the Pacific Ocean, he added.

"Militarily, this has no direct impact on Taiwan," he said.

"However, this has geopolitical significance."

Yesterday, the Head of the TNI AL Information Service, Admiral Tunggul, said that the KRI I Gusti Ngurai Rai (332), which after participating in the bilateral exercise Exercise Orruda 2026 on July 29-30, in Vladivostok, Russia, until returning to the country, will carry out Passing Exercise with countries that will be passed.

"The passing exercise that was carried out was not war fighting, but as a universal navy tradition when passing through a country's territorial waters," he explained.

"This Passex is also a goodwill engagement that is commonly carried out by navies in the world as a form of naval brotherhood and maritime diplomacy inherent in warships," he added.