The largest multilateral military exercise in Australia, the Talisman Sabre 2025 exercise, officially began on Sunday with an opening ceremony on the HMAS Adelaide landing dock.
The Ministry of Defense stated that this is the 11th execution of this military exercise and that it is the largest and most advanced war exercise in Australia’s history.
Over the next three weeks, more than 35.000 soldiers from Australia and partner countries will be deployed across Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales, and Christmas Island. For the first time, activities will also take place in Papua New Guinea.
Forces from the United States (U.S.), 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 (UK) are participating in the exercise, while Malaysia and Vietnam are attending as observers.
The event will include live-fire exercises, field training, amphibious landings, ground force maneuvers, and air and naval operations, together with new Australian military capabilities such as UH-60M Black Hawks and precision strike missiles.
The Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery of Australia, Pat Conroy, stated on Sunday that Canberra will not send troops to any conflict in advance.
“The decision to send Australian troops into conflict will be made by the government at that moment, not in advance, but by the government at that moment,” he said.
His remarks came in response to a media report published on Saturday, which claimed that U.S. Undersecretary for Policy Elbridge Colby was pressuring Australian and Japanese defense officials regarding their plans in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.
Colby wrote on X that the Department of Defense is implementing President Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy, which focuses on re-establishing deterrence and encourages allies to increase defense spending and contribute more to collective security efforts.
China considers Taiwan a separatist province. Taiwan rejects that claim and insists on maintaining its de facto independence.
