Australia yesterday opened a large-scale joint military exercise with the US and almost a dozen other nations, as a senior officer revealed that a Chinese spy ship was following the proceedings.
Officials formally launched the biennial Talisman Sabre exercise involving more than 30,000 troops from 13 nations, including Britain, Japan, Indonesia, Canada and France.
The drills come amid increasing concern about the threat posed to the region by China, which is not part of the military exercise.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Speaking at a news conference onboard the HMAS Canberra, Australian Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton told reporters that a Chinese spy ship had been spotted off the country’s northeastern coast the previous day.
“We reached out on Thursday and hailed that vessel in the Coral Sea,” he said.
“It’ll move down, I expect, and join the exercise or be in the location of the exercise again,” he said.
Photo: AFP / Australian Department of Defence
“They’ve done this for a number of years — we’re well-prepared for it,” he added.
Bilton said the Chinese response to Australia’s communication had been “courteous and in accordance with normal norms at sea.”
Australia and the US have made it clear that they have their eyes on China’s activities in the Asia-Pacific region.
Australia has announced moves to develop military facilities in its northern region, while also saying that the US military presence there would increase in coming years.
US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said that the major multination military training exercise sends a message to China that the US’ allies are cooperating to defend their security and democratic values.
Del Toro and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, welcomed ever-closer bilateral military ties as they launched the exercise at a Sydney naval base.
Del Toro said land, sea and air military platforms are becoming increasingly complicated and allies need to exercise together to be able to operate as a single task force.
“The most important message that China can take from this exercise and anything that our allies and partners do together is that we are extremely tied by the core values that exist among our many nations together,” Del Toro told reporters.
“We are prepared to actually operate together in defense of our national security interests and in defense of the core values that we all share,” he added.
Marles said more than 800 military vehicles would cross a single mobile wharf to be deployed at the Queensland state coastal town of Bowen during the two-week exercise.
“It’s going to be the most significant logistics exercise that we will see between Australia and the United States in Australia since the Second World War,” he said.
“All of this is actually building muscle memory between our two countries’ defense forces, is building comfort and familiarity and obviously not just between Australia and the United States but the other 11 countries that will be participating,” he added.
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