A military exercise drawing together 19 nations and 35,000 forces begins in Australia
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 on Sunday.
Malaysia and Vietnam are also attending as observers.
The exercise will also take part in Papua New Guinea, Australia's nearest neighbor. It is the first time Talisman Sabre activities have been held outside Australia.
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
Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
Twelve Hong Kong activists appeal convictions in landmark '47 democrats' case
HONG KONG, July 14 (Reuters) - Twelve Hong Kong pro-democracy activists appealed their subversion convictions and jail terms on Monday in a national security case that has spotlighted Beijing's ongoing crackdown on dissent and drawn international criticism. The appeal stems from the "47 democrats" case, named for the number of activists who were arrested and charged with 'conspiracy to commit subversion' in early 2021. The court eventually found 45 of the defendants guilty of organising and holding an unofficial primary election in July 2020 after massive pro-democracy protests brought the city to a standstill. Prosecutors considered the action to be a "plot" to undermine the Hong Kong government. Security was tight around the West Kowloon law courts building as scores of police officers, some with police dogs, patrolled the area and occasionally searched passers-by. "I want to see all of them," said an elderly man surnamed Wong who was among around 100 people queuing to get a public ticket for the hearing. "They're not criminals." Foreign diplomats from over half a dozen countries were in attendance for this latest stage of the legal saga that began with dawn police raids on the homes of high-profile democrats in early 2021. Some countries such as the United States have condemned the case as "politically motivated" and are calling for the immediate release of the democrats who were sentenced last November to prison terms of up to ten years. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, however, have defended the independence of the judiciary and say no one is above the law and the democrats have received a fair trial. Of the 16 democrats who pleaded not guilty during the trial, 11 have decided to appeal, including Gordon Ng, Gwyneth Ho and Owen Chow, who were all jailed for over seven years. Another democrat, Prince Wong, who pleaded guilty, is appealing her sentence. One defendant, Michael Pang, decided to withdraw his application on Monday. The appeals are expected to take around 10 days, and will also include a government appeal against the acquittal of one of the democrats, barrister Lawrence Lau. A years-long crackdown under a China-imposed national security law has resulted in arrests, the closures of liberal media outlets and civil society groups. The last two remaining pro-democracy parties, the Democratic Party and the League of Social Democrats, disbanded this year citing growing pressures. The case is one of the most prominent so far under a 2020 national security law that was imposed by China in response to mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
India wants to limit temperature settings on air conditioners to save on energy
India 's government is proposing a new rule to limit the lowest temperature setting on new air conditioners to 20C, aiming to conserve electricity in the country's rapidly growing AC market. The initiative seeks to curb the significant energy consumption by air conditioners, which are major contributors to India's peak electricity demand and greenhouse gas emissions, with potential power shortages anticipated by next year. While the power minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, stated the rule would take effect soon, the proposal has received mixed reactions from the public in India's hot cities. Energy experts suggest that while the temperature limit is a positive step, mandating more energy-efficient AC units would yield greater savings and address the issue more effectively. India faces the challenge of replacing an estimated 80 million older, inefficient air conditioners, many of which would be banned in other countries due to their high energy consumption.
The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Huge military exercise involving 19 countries begins as Chinese surveillance expected
Australia is currently hosting its largest-ever war fighting drills, Exercise Talisman Sabre, an event anticipated to draw the scrutiny of Chinese spy vessels. 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 on Sunday. Malaysia and Vietnam are also attending as observers. The exercise will also take part in Papua New Guinea, Australia's nearest neighbor. It is the first time Talisman Sabre activities have been held outside Australia. 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.
