Latest news with #militaryExercise
ABC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Australian navy joins UK to conduct freedom of navigation exercises in contested South China Sea
An Australian naval destroyer has joined a British patrol vessel to conduct a freedom of navigation exercise in the South China Sea, in another sign Australia's military remains intent on pushing back on Beijing's claims over the contested waters. The UK Defence Ministry's Permanent Joint Headquarters publicised the operation on social media on Tuesday — although the Australian Defence Force has not announced it publicly and has not yet responded to the ABC's questions about the activity. "HMS SPEY and HMAS SYDNEY have just conducted Freedom of Navigation Activity around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in accordance with UNCLOS," it said on the social media site X. The two countries conducted the drill while much of the world's attention remains focused on the US strikes on Iran and the threat of a broader conflagration in the Middle East. Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory — despite a 2016 international ruling which found that claim invalid — and its navy and coast guard have repeatedly clashed with vessels from the Philippines, which is one of the South-East Asian nations which also has overlapping claims in the sea. China and the Philippines have also had several potentially dangerous aerial encounters over the South China Sea, including in February, when China's military said it had expelled three Philippine aircraft from the Spratly Islands. Australia has conducted freedom of navigation activities in the South China Sea with an expanding number of countries, including the US, Japan, Canada and the Philippines — which have all shown increasing resolve to assert their right to sail through the waters. But Euan Graham from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said it appeared to be the first time that the United Kingdom and Australia had conducted a publicly flagged freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea by themselves. He said both countries were "pushing back against China's excessive maritime claims and thickening military presence in the South China Sea" by asserting their right to navigation. Mr Graham said Canberra was signalling that China's recent partial circumnavigation of the Australian mainland would not deter it from continuing to operate in the South China Sea. Multiple Chinese analysts have suggested that Beijing was using the deployment to Australia to discourage the federal government from sending naval vessels into waters near China. "There's a sense that Australia is stepping up its game and being present (in the South China Sea) at a time when China's navy is exerting its presence close to Australia," Mr Graham said. The United Kingdom and Australia have already been stepping up joint naval activities in the region — including by taking part in an operation to enforce United Nations sanctions on North Korea. In February British and Australian ships also joined the United States Navy in the South China Sea to conduct a "coordinated manoeuvring exercise", and last week China lashed the United Kingdom after HMS Spey flagged that it was sailing through the Taiwan Strait. The British government has said that HMAS Sydney and HMS Spey will now sail to Singapore, where they will meet with the United Kingdom's carrier Prince of Wales and a Strike Group with a host of navy ships from the UK, Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Spain. The Carrier Strike Group will then sail down to the Northern Territory to join Operation Talisman Sabre — massive Australia-US joint military exercises which will also draw in forces from more than a dozen other nations. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the deployment of the carrier and other British naval vessels to the region — along with around 4,000 UK military personnel — is aimed at "sending a clear message of strength to our adversaries, and a message of unity and purpose to our allies".
CBS News
29-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Coast Guard locates 3 missing phosphorus flares that were left in Lake Michigan
The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday that it has now located all the phosphorus flares that were lost in a military exercise earlier this month. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan said the flares were used for a joint military exercise with the Air Force back on May 5 offshore from Milwaukee. Four phosphorus pyrotechnics failed to activate as they were supposed to when they hit the water during the exercise, the Coast Guard said. The flares activate when they hit the water or when a cap and screw are removed, and produce a red smoke and flame that can reach 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit, the Coast Guard said. One of the four flares washed up on Montrose Beach on Monday. The other three were still missing when the Coast Guard announced one of them had been found at Montrose Beach. But on Wednesday, the Coast Guard said all four had been located. The Coast Guard did not specify where the other three flares were found. The Coast Guard said once the flares are put in the water, it is dangerous to pick them up and put them back in the vessel, so they leave them.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
1 dangerous phosphorus flare from military exercise found at Montrose Beach, 3 more still out there
A potentially dangerous phosphorus flare was found at Montrose Beach this week, and the U.S. Coast Guard said three more remain unaccounted for. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan said the flares were used for a joint military exercise with the Air Force earlier this month offshore from Milwaukee. Four phosphorus pyrotechnics failed to activate when they hit the water during the exercise, the Coast Guard said. The flares are considered armed if they do not activate. When they do, they produce a red smoke and flame that can reach 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit, the Coast Guard said. The flares ignite when they hit water, after a cap and screw are removed. One flare was found on Monday by a lifeguard at Montrose Beach — a popular beach known in particular for its dog-friendly area and its piping plovers. The newest generation of birds laid their first egg at the beach just last week. Chicago beaches also opened for the season this week. U.S. Coast Guard The Coast Guard said three live phosphorus pyrotechnics from the exercise in Milwaukee are still out there. Anyone who finds a silver-colored cylinder on the beach should call 911, the Coast Guard said.
NHK
22-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
South Korea military: North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles
South Korea's military says North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the sea from the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Thursday morning. The Joint Chiefs of Staff say North Korea fired the cruise missiles at around 9:00 a.m. from the Sondok area of South Hamgyong Province. The JCS did not provide further details, such as the distance they traveled or where they fell. North Korea has carried out a number of cruise missile launches in recent months. In January, North Korea said it test-fired a cruise missile, and it conducted a military exercise in February to launch another. In April, North Korea said it test-fired cruise missiles mounted on a recently launched destroyer. Defense experts say cruise missiles are difficult to intercept because they travel along oval trajectories at low altitudes for hours. Thursday's launches followed the North Korean state-media's announcement earlier in the day that there was a "serious" accident during the launch of a new destroyer on Wednesday. South Korean media quoted South Korean government officials as saying that the cruise missile launches could be intended as a demonstration of its ability to operate its missile forces reliably and also to deflect attention from Wednesday's failure.
