Latest news with #militarydrills
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
China says to hold military drills with Russia in August
BEIJING: China said Wednesday it would conduct joint military drills with Russia in August, including sea and air exercises near Vladivostok and joint naval patrols in the economic and political ties, Moscow and Beijing have deepened military cooperation in recent years as both countries seek to counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global drills, named 'Joint Sea-2025,' were part of regular bilateral cooperation plans and 'not directed against third parties,' Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told a press conference the drills, they will also conduct naval patrols in 'relevant waters of the Pacific,' Zhang year's 'Joint Sea-2024' exercises were held along China's southern 'Joint Sea-2025' drills are due to take place ahead of a planned visit to China by Russian President Vladimir Putin beginning late will attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as well as celebrations, including a military parade, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War will also hold talks with Chinese leader Xi between the two countries have deepened since Russia invaded Ukraine in February has never denounced Russia's more than three-year military war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine's allies believe that Beijing has provided support to insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming told Russia's foreign minister earlier in July that their countries should 'strengthen mutual support' during a meeting in Beijing.
ABC News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
US Air Force hosts biggest ever exercise in Pacific territory Guam, with experts saying China the focus
The US Air Force says it is preparing to "fight and win" the "battle of tomorrow" as the US Pacific territory of Guam plays host to the biggest combat exercise the region has ever seen. In a move experts say is undoubtedly "directed at China", the US Air Force's Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC) exercise sees more than 400 aircraft and 12,000 personnel from the US and allies such as Australia, converge on the small US island territory, about 3,000 kilometres north of Darwin. Coinciding with the Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia, the US Air Force says REFORPAC is designed to test how quickly the US and its allies can "mobilise air power across vast distances, under pressure, in a contested environment". On the ground at Guam's Andersen Air Force Base, hundreds of jet fighters and support aircraft have been flying in and out over the past two weeks, conducting various drills. Speaking at the base, Colonel Charles Dan Cooley told the ABC it was an exercise that had never been done "on this scope and scale". "That exercise, for us, is just an opportunity to practice." However, some, including the US Air Force's own social media accounts, suggest there is a far more targeted motive. This week, the US Air Force promoted a social media post that said the exercise proved how it would "fight and win in tomorrow's battlespace (sic)". Although the enemy or conflict was not specified, experts say it is directed at one country. "There's been very little disguising the fact that this exercise is directed at China," Leland Bettis, the director of Guam-based think tank Pacific Centre for Island Security, told the ABC. The exercises in the Pacific come on the back of US Defense Undersecretary Elbridge Colby's comments last week, calling on allies, such as Australia, to make clear if they would commit troops to a conflict with China over Taiwan. Guam has been identified by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as the country's most important strategic base in the region. Mr Bettis said REFORPAC reflected the reality that Guam could be vulnerable in a conflict, so the US was practising how to quickly disperse its forces. "There are significant aviation assets in [nearby US territories] Tinian and in Saipan," he said. "I think what US contingency planners anticipate in the event involving conflict with an adversary in the region is that they would use a distributed and dispersed plan, which would be able to move assets around, anticipating that some assets are not going to be available, and some bases are not going to be available. "So the fact that you have significant assets in Saipan and in Tinian also signalled that they expect that Guam assets will not be available in conflict." Back on the ground at the Andersen Air Force Base, this was backed up by Colonel Matt Johnston, commander from the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, who is in Guam for exercises. "Our ability to take off in our fighters, which don't carry a lot of gas, go get fuel, accomplish our objectives, probably go back and get some more fuel so that we can come back and land. "So, we're learning a lot of lessons through that." The military build-up comes as the Trump administration continues to realign the US's priorities in the Pacific region, most notably through its multi-billion-dollar cuts to USAID. Mr Bettis said the absence of "soft power", such as USAID-led diplomacy in the region, would pave the way for development supporting a military purpose, instead of direct assistance to nations. "The face of America in our part of the world wears a uniform, and I think you're going to probably see that more and more throughout the region."
Free Malaysia Today
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Australia says China likely to spy on military drills with US
A Chinese ship was observed moving through the Torres Strait off the Australian coast. (Australian Defense Force/AP pic) SYDNEY : Australia's government said Sunday it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the US and other allies. It also renewed a charge – denounced by Beijing as a 'false narrative' – that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercise from Sunday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. 'The Chinese military has observed these exercises since 2017, and it would be very unusual if they didn't do that this time,' said Pat Conroy, Australia's minister for the defence industry and for Pacific Island affairs. 'We'll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia,' he told Australian public broadcaster ABC. 'People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications, and we'll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage.' The strategically important South Pacific region is at the centre of a diplomatic scramble for influence pitting China against its Western rivals. 'We're seeing in my portfolio of the Pacific, China seeking to secure a military base in the region,' said Conroy, who has previously made the same assessment. 'We're working very hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region, because we don't think that's a particularly optimal thing for Australia.' China inked a secretive security pact with Pacific nation Solomon Islands in 2022. Although the details have never been published, the United States and close ally Australia fear it may be the prelude to some kind of permanent Chinese base. Australia wants 'a balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates', Conroy said. China's embassy in Fiji this month insisted claims that it wanted to set up a military base in the region were 'false narratives' driven by 'ulterior motives'. Beijing has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building sports stadiums, presidential palaces, hospitals and roads in Pacific island nations. Kiribati, the Solomon Islands and Nauru have in recent years severed longstanding diplomatic links with Taiwan in favour of China.
Wall Street Journal
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
40,000 Troops, 19 Nations: The China Threat Unites U.S. Allies
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia—Artillery, rocket launchers and self-propelled howitzers opened fire at a training area in northern Australia on Monday, kick-starting three weeks of military drills here between the U.S. and 18 allies. The biennial exercise, called Talisman Sabre, is meant to send a message to China: The U.S. and its partners are ready to respond together to aggression from Beijing, which has been increasingly asserting itself in what it regards as its sphere of influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
On Taiwan's forgotten front line, all the defensive drills in the world may not matter
The tanks and armoured vehicles rolled onto the sandy beach in the dead of night on Taiwan's Kinmen island, lying in wait for the signal. Within minutes, the order came over the loudspeaker, and the drills began with a series of huge explosions shaking the ground of this small island, located just two kilometres from China. The rumbling thunder of rockets being launched towards the water could be heard from the edge of the beach. Seconds later, the sound of machine guns and a howitzer split the air while lasers lit up the night sky with orange lines. The drills taking place at the Houhu Seaside Park on Kinmen's east coast are part of Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military drills. They are hosted there to showcase its military prowess and prepare its troops in the event of a Chinese invasion. This year, the exercises are the biggest and longest ever, with more than 22,000 reservists deployed for 10 days of weapons training as well as a wide range of field exercises, which have included running through Taipei's subway system in the middle of the night. The drills on Kinmen are particularly important, given that its proximity to China has earned it the label of Taiwan's 'front line'. However, those who live on Kinmen, including the troops, believe that this designation may no longer be valid; with some of the world's most advanced weapons, if China wanted to attack Taiwan today, it could go straight for the jugular and hit the capital, Taipei. 'In the past, the military technology was not that advanced so the Chinese communists could only bomb Kinmen Island, but now they can launch missiles across the ocean, even to the United States,' said Yu-Jen Chen, who represents Kinmen in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan – similar to a member of parliament in the UK. As part of this year's larger Han Kuang drills, they will also involve 'unscripted' portions to more accurately simulate what would happen in the event of an attack. On Kinmen, this means that some of the soldiers participating in the night-time drills have not been told key information in advance. 'They will only be deployed to the beach, when they receive the order from their commanders,' said a military source who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media. 'Previously they would have a planned mobilisation, but this time they don't have an arranged deployment.' Similar to the rest of Han Kuang, the drills on Kinmen this year are the largest ever, with all 3,000 soldiers stationed on the island taking part. Nine M60A3 tanks and four CM21 armoured vehicles were seen lining up before launching a torrent of projectiles towards Taiwan island. There will also be continuous shooting across the main island, neighbouring Lesser Kinmen and nine surrounding islets, marking the first time all 12 are using live fire. 'This is the biggest one in history. While the islets have been included as part of the annual Han Kuang in the past, this year we made adjustments to have simultaneous live-firing on all of them,' Lt Gen Wang Shi-Tu, commander of the Kinmen Defense Command, told The Telegraph. 'This is because of the threats, especially the threats coming from the other side of the Taiwan Strait.' China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, a stance which the government in Taipei rejects, and has not ruled out the use of force to 'reunify' the country. However, those who live in Kinmen don't believe that the drills are all that useful. 'I was joking with a general who said that if a war happens they will mobilise their troops to hide in the mountains so we can avoid escalating the battle and minimise the destruction on Kinmen,' said Wang Song-Wei, who works at the Kinmen county government. There used to be approximately 100,000 troops stationed on Kinmen Island, but over the years this number has decreased to the 3,000 or so here today – hardly enough to defend the island against China's strength of more than two million. Legislator Chen explained that having fewer troops on Kinmen makes the island less of a target. The island also doesn't look the way you would imagine a frontline to look. Former military bases have been turned into museums, with artillery used in tourist showcases and old tanks left outside to rust and decay. All of this is compounded by the greatest disadvantage facing Kinmen – that it would more or less be left to fend for itself in the event of an attack. Legislator Chen said that the 'official attitude' from the ministry of national defence in Taipei is that if Kinmen were attacked, its people would have to 'fight for ourselves independently'. This sentiment was echoed by several residents across the island, including Jason Yang, who was born and raised on Kinmen, but before retiring served as one of the highest officials in the military's combat unit on the main island. 'In the event of a possible confrontation with China, it would not be a priority for Taipei to send troops,' he said. Mr Wang believes one of the reasons that Lai Ching-te, the Taiwan president, decided to increase the scale of the Han Kuang drills this year was to appeal to the United States and, as the 'frontline', Kinmen needed to be included. The US has long maintained a principle of strategic ambiguity when it comes to Taiwan, refraining from asserting whether it would come to the country's defence in the event of an attack. The Pentagon has recently been pushing Japan and Australia to clarify what kind of role they would play if Taiwan was attacked. One unnamed US official said that this was to ensure that 'the United States and its allies have the military strength to underwrite diplomacy and guarantee peace'. For his part, Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, rebuffed the efforts, saying that his country would not join a 'hypothetical' conflict with China over Taiwan. President Donald Trump has echoed this position, while also pushing for Taiwan to do its own part to protect itself, including by increasing its defence budget. 'It is very likely Lai is trying to show off to Trump. He takes action based on loyalty. He wants people to grovel and that is what Lai is doing,' said Mr Wang. While the threat of an invasion looms over many in Taipei, for those on Kinmen, they don't believe China would attack 'its own family', as one resident put it. Kinmen and Xiamen, the Chinese city closest to the island, are very close culturally and many residents on both sides have family on the other. No one understands this better than Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, who served as vice-mayor of the coastal city during the 1980s. The government in Beijing has been capitalising on these ties in recent years, adopting what has become known as the Kinmen Model. This refers to Chinese coast guard activities aimed at furthering legal cross-strait relations by removing Taipei's authority over the Taiwan Strait. China has deployed many vessels – both officially and unofficially – into the strait over the years as part of its 'grey zone' efforts to intimidate and coerce Taiwan. Given this, it came as little surprise to those gathered on the beach that the island's largest drills to date began with the encroachment of a Chinese fishing boat.
