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The United States, along with its allies and partners, is conducting a large-scale war game in Australia to train for maintaining stability in the Pacific amid growing threats from China.
The three-week-long Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025—the largest and most sophisticated warfighting exercise ever conducted in Australia—commenced on Sunday with more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 Indo-Pacific, North American and European nations.
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Exercise Talisman Sabre coincided with a U.S. Air Force exercise focused on the Pacific theater—the Department-Level Exercise series—which began last week and is taking place across the Indo-Pacific region with 12,000 personnel and more than 350 aircraft.
The multinational war game in Australia follows China‘s show of force in the South Pacific between February and March—when it deployed a three-ship flotilla for a circumnavigation of Australia, flexing its expanding naval strength as what it described as a “major power.”
What To Know
The 11th iteration of Exercise Talisman Sabre took place across Australia and, for the first time, in Papua New Guinea. It included live-fire drills and field training exercises such as amphibious landings, ground force maneuvers, and air combat and maritime operations.
In addition to forces from Australia and the U.S., participating countries were 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. Malaysia and Vietnam attended the exercise as observers.
In Focus
Four Australian Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launching rockets at Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Australia, during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 on July 13.
The number of participating countries—the highest in the exercise’s history—”underscores a shared understanding that lasting security in the Indo-Pacific depends on collective commitment, strength, and deterrence against modern challenges,” the U.S. Army said.
Participating U.S. personnel come from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Space Force. They, along with partnered forces, will be tested and will rehearse capabilities—demonstrating resolve for “enduring regional stability,” the U.S. Army added
Photos released by the Australian military show several participating forces—including the Australian army, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Army—firing missiles and rockets at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland during a live-fire drill.
Exercises such as Talisman Sabre provide readiness to respond to nations’ calls and serve as a deterrent mechanism, according to Lieutenant General Joel B. Vowell, the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific, “because our ultimate goal, part two here, is no war.”
What People Are Saying
Australian Vice Admiral Justin Jones, the chief of joint operations, said in a news release on Sunday: “Exercise Talisman Sabre remains a powerful demonstration of Australia’s enduring commitment to strengthening relationships between trusted allies and partners, in support of a peaceful, stable and sovereign Indo-Pacific.”
Lieutenant General Joel B. Vowell, the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific, said in a news release on Sunday: “As part of the Combined Joint Force, we train diligently and realistically to integrate capabilities across land, sea, air, cyber, and space domains, operating alongside our allies and partners from 19 nations.”
What Happens Next
According to Australian Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy, the Chinese military sent surveillance ships to monitor naval exercises off the Australian coast during the last four Exercise Talisman Sabre iterations and is expected to surveil the current exercise as well.
