Melbourne, Australia (AP) – Australia’s largest-ever military exercise, Talisman Saber, is currently underway and is anticipated to draw interest from Chinese spy vessels.
Initiated in 2005, Talisman Saber is a biennial joint drill involving the US and Australia.
This year, around 35,000 military members from 19 nations, including Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom, are participating. The event is scheduled to span three weeks.
Malaysia and Vietnam are also attending as observers.
The exercises are set to occur in Papua New Guinea, marking the first time Talisman Saber activities have taken place outside of Australia.
Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy noted that a Chinese surveillance ship is likely to observe naval drills off Australia’s coast, as it has done for the last four Talisman Saber exercises. He remarked, “The Chinese military has been watching these exercises since 2017. It’s quite unusual for them not to have a presence.”
Conroy added that they would monitor and adapt to the Chinese activities in Australia, mentioning, “We will clearly keep an eye on their presence here.”
As of Sunday, Conroy mentioned that the Chinese did not yet overshadow the event.
The exercise launched at a ceremony in Sydney featuring U.S. Army Lt. Gen. J.B. Vaughwell and Justin Jones from Australia’s Joint Operations Command.
Interestingly, this drill began shortly after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese started a six-day trip to China, where he’s expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping again on Tuesday.
Albanese commented that the surveillance by China during Talisman Saber wasn’t a topic of discussion in his meeting with Xi. “It’s not unexpected; this has happened before, but I will continue to uphold Australia’s national interests,” he shared with reporters in Shanghai on Monday.
He also noted he has visited the Chinese Prime Minister five times since taking office but has only been to China twice.
Back in Australia, leaders have faced criticism for not securing a face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump. Albanese expressed optimism about constructive discussions with Trump, highlighting that they have successfully communicated over the phone three times.
