
Australia hosts largest-ever military exercise with 19 nations, likely to draw Chinese attention
Exercise Talisman Sabre
, are underway and expected to attract the attention of Chinese spy ships.
Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a biennial joint exercise between the United States and Australia.
This year, more than 35,000 military personnel 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, will take part over three weeks, Australia's defense department said Sunday.
Malaysia and Vietnam are also attending as observers.
The exercise will also take place in Papua New Guinea, Australia's nearest neighbor. It is the first time Talisman Sabre activities have been held outside Australia.
Live Events
Chinese surveillance ships
have monitored naval exercises off the Australian coast during the last four Talisman Sabre exercises and were expected to surveil the current exercise, Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.
"The Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017. It'd be very unusual for them not to observe it," Conroy told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
"We'll adjust accordingly. We'll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia, but we'll also adjust how we conduct those exercises," Conroy added.
Conroy said the Chinese were not yet shadowing ships as of Sunday.
The exercise officially started on Sunday with a ceremony in Sydney attended by Deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army Pacific Lt. Gen. J.B. Vowell and Australia's Chief of Joint Operations Vice-Adm. Justin Jones.
The exercise, showcasing Australia's defense alliance with the United States, started a day after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese began a six-day visit to China, where he is expected to hold his fourth face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday.
Albanese said Chinese surveillance of Talisman Sabre would not be an issue raised with Xi.
"That would be nothing unusual. That has happened in the past and I'll continue to assert Australia's national interest, as I do," Albanese told reporters in Shanghai Monday.
Albanese also noted that while he had visited the United States as prime minister five times, he had only been to China twice.
The Australian leader has been criticized at home for failing to secure a face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"I look forward to a constructive engagement with President Trump. We have had three constructive phone conversations," Albanese said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
26 minutes ago
- Time of India
Taiwan reports continued Chinese military activity around its territory
Synopsis Taiwan's Defence Ministry reports Chinese military activity near its territory. Four Chinese aircraft and ten naval vessels were observed. The aircraft crossed the median line into Taiwan's air defence zone. This activity follows similar incursions reported on Sunday. These actions highlight ongoing tensions between Taiwan and China. Taiwan monitors the situation and responds accordingly to ensure national security.
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
26 minutes ago
- First Post
Pakistan: Protest against counter-terror ops turns deadly in KPK as 3 killed in firing by gunmen
Three people were killed and several injured after gunmen opened fire on a protest in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Locals were demonstrating against counter-terror operations following a girl's death in a mortar strike. read more Unknown gunmen opened fire on a protest in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, killing three people and injuring several others, news agency PTI reported, citing officials. The demonstrations were staged against ongoing counter-terrorism operations in the region. The protest erupted in the Tirah Valley after a young girl was killed a day earlier in a mortar attack in Zakha Khel, located in Khyber District. In response, angry locals gathered and placed the girl's body outside the Momand Ghuz security checkpoint to demand accountability. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Suhail Afridi, special assistant to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, confirmed that the protesters were fired upon by terrorists, leaving three people dead and eight injured. Pak's deep-rooted security challenge Terrorism remains a major security threat in Pakistan, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Ironically, while Pakistan presents itself internationally as a victim of terrorism, it has long been accused of supporting extremist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, especially in their operations against India. Military operations and human rights concerns Inside its borders, Pakistan has waged several large-scale military operations—such as Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad—to dismantle militant networks. Yet groups like Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State (IS) affiliates, and Baloch separatist outfits remain active, frequently targeting civilians, security forces, and critical infrastructure. The state's heavy-handed counter-terror tactics have led to serious human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and unlawful detentions. These actions have deepened mistrust among citizens and eroded confidence in the rule of law. Persistent militancy and regional hotspots The tribal belt near the Afghan border continues to be a hub of militant activity. Meanwhile, Balochistan has witnessed an uptick in violence, often directed at Chinese projects tied to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Though urban centers like Karachi and Lahore have seen a relative decline in attacks, the threat of sleeper cells and lone-wolf actors remains. Worsening rights crisis in Balochistan In Balochistan, the security situation is compounded by long-standing grievances over political marginalisation and economic exploitation. The region has become a focal point of allegations regarding systemic human rights violations, particularly targeting students, activists, and political dissenters. Human rights watchdogs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented repeated cases of torture, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial killings—often attributed to state agencies operating without accountability. Enforced disappearances and public outrage Families of the disappeared frequently organise sit-ins and protests, displaying photographs of their missing loved ones and demanding justice. Thousands of cases have been reported to Pakistan's Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, with Balochistan accounting for a disproportionate share. However, few have been resolved, and the perpetrators rarely face consequences. Suppressing dissent through fear Activists argue that these disappearances are part of a broader strategy to suppress the Baloch nationalist movement and silence dissent against controversial state-led projects like CPEC. The lack of judicial oversight, transparency, and accountability has only widened the trust deficit between the Baloch people and the federal government—fuelling further instability in an already volatile region.
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
'Very close to China deal': Trump hopeful as trade negotiators meet in Stockholm
US President Donald Trump said his administration is very close to a trade deal with China as senior negotiators from both nations meet in Stockholm read more US President Donald Trump said that Washington, DC, is 'very close' to a trade deal with China, as senior negotiators from both nations meet in Stockholm on Monday. The talks aim to resolve longstanding economic disputes that are at the heart of the trade war between the world's two largest economies. The negotiations are being conducted at a time when China is facing an Aug 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with the Trump administration. It is pertinent to note that both nations reached a preliminary deal in June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Before meeting European Union Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Trump expressed optimism over the deal. 'We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes,' the president told reporters, providing no further details over the matter. What lies ahead The Stockholm talks are led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and are coming right on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet, with the EU accepting a 15 per cent tariff on its goods exports to the US and agreeing to make significant EU purchases of US energy and military equipment. Without an agreement between China and the US, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil of high duties that can go beyond the 100 per cent mark. Analysts believe that while the trade deal between Beijing and Washington, DC might not be as grand as the one Trump struck with the EU, another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce is more likely to be the outcome, Business Times reported. Interestingly, an extension of the deadline would prevent further escalation of the trade war between the two nations and would also create a space for a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. There have been speculations that the two leaders can hold talks in late October. Trump-Xi meeting on the cards? In the past, Trump has said that he will decide soon whether to visit China in a landmark trip to address trade and security tensions. 'The Stockholm meeting is an opportunity to start laying the groundwork for a Trump visit to China,' Wendy Cutler, vice-president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told Business Times. Meanwhile, Bessent has already maintained that he wants to work out an extension of the Aug 12 deadline to prevent tariffs snapping back to 145 per cent on the US side and 125 per cent on the Chinese side. Beijing, on the other hand, is likely to request a reduction of multi-layered US tariffs totalling 55 per cent on most goods and further easing of US high-tech export controls, experts said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD China argued that these purchases would help reduce the US trade deficit with China, which reached US$295.5 billion in 2024. China is currently facing a 20 per cent tariff related to the US fentanyl crisis, a 10 per cent reciprocal tariff, and 25 per cent duties on most industrial goods imposed during Trump's first term.