Strengthening Alliances/Increasing Provocation via Joint Military Exercises

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Strengthening Alliances/Increasing Provocation via Joint Military Exercises

Australia has been involved in a number of joint military exercises in the last two years, including:

  •          Talisman Sabre: This is a biennial joint military exercise between Australia and the United States. The most recent exercise was held in July 2023 and involved over 30,000 personnel from both countries. Two Chinese Navy spy ships observed the exercise from coastal regions of the Northern Territory and Queensland. This exercise has been criticized by China as being a provocation and a sign of Australia's increasing militarization.[1]


  •          Pitch Black: The 2022 exercise ran from 19 August to 8 September with 17 participating countries, namely Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. and conducted in Northern Australia from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases Tindal and Darwin involving some 2,500 personnel. Three first-timers, Germany, Japan and South Korea, were among the 17 nations taking part. China has criticized the exercise as being a way for Australia to build up its military presence in the region. Chinese state media said Exercise Pitch Black is designed “to pull more countries into an anti-China united frontline and show the unity of the West to pressure China over the Taiwan question.” The exercise “may add oil to the flames as the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing instability with the U.S.' rampant provocations in the region,” said the hawkish Chinese tabloid Global Times.[2] Pitch Black is one of many displays of “force projection” in the Indo-Pacific squarely aimed at China.[3]

 

  •          RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific): This is a biennial multinational maritime exercise that is hosted by the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet in Hawaii. Australia has participated in RIMPAC every year since 1971. The most recent exercise was held in August 2022 and involved over 25,000 personnel from 26 countries. China has participated in the exercise in the past, but it has not participated since 2018. China has criticized the exercise as being a way for the United States to build up its military presence in the region. The United States contingent has included an aircraft carrier strike group, submarines, up to a hundred aircraft and 20,000 Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and their respective officers. The size of the exercises varies from year to year. In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, both houses of the US have called for a Taiwanese participation of RIMPAC in the face of "increasingly coercive and aggressive behavior" by China.[4]


  •          Exercise Bersama Lima: This is a five-power (maritime) defence (FPDA) exercise between Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. The most recent exercise was held in May 2022 and involved over 3,000 personnel from all five countries. A smaller exercise, codenamed Exercise Bersama Shield concluded on 12 May 2023, after two weeks of manoeuvres off the coast of Malaysia. Together with its larger cousin, Exercise Bersama Lima, these activities bring together military personnel and assets from FPDA countries to conduct tactical-level joint operations. China and North Korea did not publicly comment on Exercise Bersama Lima nor Bersama Shield. However, both countries have been critical of other joint military exercises in the region, such as Talisman Sabre and RIMPAC. China has accused these exercises of being a way for the United States to build up its military presence in the region and to contain China. North Korea has also accused these exercises of being a threat to its security. It is possible that China and North Korea did not publicly comment on Exercise Bersama Lima/Shield because they did not see them as a threat to their security. The exercises were relatively small-scale, and it not involve the United States.


  •          Exercise Alon: This was conducted for the first time from August 14 to 26, 2023. It was a biennial joint bilateral amphibious activity between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was supported by United States Marine Corps (USMC) personnel from the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin. The exercise is part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour (IPE) and involved six ships, multiple aircraft and more than 2000 personnel, including about 700 Armed Forces of the Philippines, 1200 ADF and 150 USMC personnel. The exercise was held in the Philippines. It included amphibious, and follow-on land operations. The highlights of the exercise included practicing retaking an island seized by a hostile force, a simulated, combined air assault using USMC MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in Palawan, a combined amphibious demonstration at Zambales, and artillery and aviation live-fire serials at Crow Valley in the Philippines. The exercise was designed to improve interoperability and readiness between the ADF and the AFP, and to deter potential threats to the region. It was also seen as a way to strengthen the Australia-Philippines alliance. The Alon exercise is part of a series of joint military exercises that Australia has been conducting with the Philippines in recent years. These exercises are designed to improve interoperability and readiness between the two countries, and to deter potential threats to the region.[5] The drills occurred amid growing regional tension following the territorial standoff between China and the Philippines earlier in August 2023 in the Spratly Islands.

 

It is also worth noting that China has recently been conducting its own military exercises in the South China Sea, which is seen as a way to assert its dominance in the region. These exercises have been met with criticism from the United States and its allies, who see them as a threat to freedom of navigation in the region. Some of the most notable recent exercises include:

  •          A live-fire exercise in the Paracel Islands in July 2022. The exercise involved the Chinese Navy and Air Force, and it was seen as a show of force against Vietnam and the Philippines, who also claim the Paracel Islands.[6]


  •          A joint exercise with Russia in the South China Sea in September 2022. The exercise involved the Chinese and Russian navies, and it was seen as a way for the two countries to cooperate in the region.[7] The 2022 China-Russia joint military exercises in the Sea of Japan were the first time that the two countries had conducted such exercises in the region. The exercises were seen as a warning to the United States and its allies that China and Russia are willing to cooperate militarily to protect their interests. Other examples of joint activities include:
    - In July 2019, and again in December 2020, Russia and China flew joint bomber patrols over the Pacific.
    - In November 2022, Russian and Chinese warplanes including the Tupolev-95 and XIAN H-6K long range strategic bombers conducted joint patrols over the Sea of Japan and East China sea.[8
    ]    - In July 2019, and again in December 2020, Russia and China flew joint bomber patrols over the Pacific.
    - In November 2022, Russian and Chinese warplanes including the Tupolev-95 and XIAN H-6K long range strategic bombers conducted joint patrols over the Sea of Japan and East China sea.[8]

  •          In January 2023 the Chinese navy carried out a series of “confrontational drills” in the South China Sea after a United States aircraft carrier group began operating in the contested waterway. The Chinese navy’s Shandong aircraft carrier group conducted “realistic combat-oriented confrontational exercises”.[9] Activity in that region subsequently involved a Chinese coast guard ship which used a water cannon on 5 August 2023 to try to block a Philippine supply run at Second Thomas Shoal, where Filipino troops are stationed.[10]


  •          Later this year, China is organizing a multinational joint exercise called Aman Youyi (meaning peace and friendship) that will involve five Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Recently, China has also conducted joint military drills with Singapore and Cambodia and participated in a multinational exercise in Thailand.[11].


These are just a few of the many military exercises that China has conducted in the South China Sea in the last two years. These exercises have been met with criticism from the United States and its allies, who see them as a threat to freedom of navigation in the region. China has defended its military exercises in the South China Sea, saying that they are necessary to protect its sovereignty and security. However, the United States and its allies have accused China of militarizing the region and of trying to bully its neighbours. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have overlapping territorial claims in the waterway, a potential Asian flashpoint which has also become a delicate front in the U.S.-China rivalry.

China has claimed most of the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which about $3 trillion in goods pass each year. The United States does not take a position on the sovereignty claims, but it insists on the right to sail and fly in the area, a position that has led to multiple standoffs between US and Chinese ships and planes. China has accused the United States of conducting "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea as a way to challenge its sovereignty. China has also said that these exercises are a threat to regional peace and stability.

North Korea has also criticized the United States for conducting military exercises in the South China Sea, saying that they are a threat to its security. North Korea has said that it will take "necessary measures" to protect its security if the exercises continue.

The United States has defended its military exercises in the South China Sea, saying that they are necessary to ensure freedom of navigation and to deter aggression. The United States has also said that it is committed to working with its allies in the region to maintain peace and stability.

Here are some of the reasons why China and North Korea perceive military exercises conducted in the South China Sea area involving the United States as provocative:

  • The exercises are seen as a way for the United States to assert its dominance in the region and to challenge China's claims.
  • The exercises are seen as a threat to China's security, as they could be used to launch an attack on Chinese territory.
  • The exercises are seen as a way for the United States to interfere in the internal affairs of China and North Korea.

Australia’s participation in joint military exercises with the United States in the South China Sea area may increase the likelihood that China and/or North Korea might regard that as a way for the United States to extend its military reach into the region and assert its dominance in the region to contain China's rise. In addition, Australia has been increasing its military capabilities in recent years, including acquiring new fighter jets, long range missiles and (eventually) nuclear-powered submarines. This may be seen by China and North Korea as a threat to their security especially if it is also perceived that the joint exercises are a way for Australia to gain access to US military technology and expertise, which could make Australia a more capable military power.

The United States and its allies argue that the exercises are necessary to ensure freedom of navigation and to deter aggression. They also argue that the exercises are not a threat to China or North Korea, and that they are conducted in accordance with international law.


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