SYDNEY: Australia’s defense minister Richard Marles will travel to the Philippines to observe joint training drills focussed on regional security, his office said on Monday, amid tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea.
More than 2,000 Australian and Philippine defense personnel will participate in amphibious landing and air assault drills, with two Australian navy vessels, HMAS Canberra and HMAS ANZAC, having arrived to conduct the bilateral exercises with the Philippines Navy.
Australia holds annual defense exercises in South East Asia, although it is the first amphibious exercise — the movement of ground and air forces from ship to shore — with the Philippines.
Philippines military chief Romeo Brawner told reporters the exercise in Palawan, held on Monday by Australia, the Philippines and a US aircraft, was “not directed against China.”
Palawan is a southwest island province near the South China Sea.
China and the Philippines have been embroiled for years in on-off confrontations at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
At the bilateral drills in the Philippines, Exercise Alon will involve 1,500 Australian defense personnel, 1,200 Philippine personnel and 150 US Marines who are part of the US rotational force in Darwin in Australia’s north.
An Australian defense statement last week said Exercise Alon will involve a “simulated, combined air assault using [US Marines Corp] Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in Palawan, a combined amphibious demonstration at Zambales and artillery and aviation live-fire serials at Crow Valley” in the Philippines.
Zambales is also near the South China Sea.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he will make the first visit by an Australian leader to the Philippines in 20 years next month, to discuss defense and security cooperation.
Albanese on Monday played down the Australian navy deployment to the Philippines for training exercises, against the backdrop of the China tensions.
“This is business as usual, Australia conducts activities in our region,” he said.
Marles will also stop in Malaysia to meet his counterpart, his office said.
Australia defense minister to travel to Philippines to observe drills
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Australia defense minister to travel to Philippines to observe drills
- HMAS Canberra and HMAS ANZAC earlier arrived to conduct the bilateral exercises with the Philippine Navy
- Australia holds annual defense exercises in South East Asia, although it is the first amphibious exercise with the Philippines
Carney denies claim he walked back Davos speech in Trump call
- Carney’s speech last week in Davos urged middle powers to break their reliance on US economic influence
- Trump told Carney to watch his words as “Canada lives because of the United States”
TORONTO: Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday denied a claim that he walked back his speech at the World Economic Forum denouncing US global leadership in a subsequent call with President Donald Trump.
Carney’s speech last week in Davos, which captured global attention, said the rules-based international order led by the United States for decades was enduring a “rupture” and urged middle powers to break their reliance on US economic influence, which Washington was partly using as “coercion.”
The speech angered Trump, who told Carney to watch his words as “Canada lives because of the United States.”
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “I was in the Oval with the president today. He spoke to Prime Minister Carney, who was very aggressively walking back some of the very unfortunate remarks he made at Davos.”
Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday that Bessent was incorrect.
“To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” he said.
Carney reiterated that Canada “was the first country to understand the change in US trade policy that (Trump) had initiated, and we’re responding to that.”
Carney told reporters that Trump initiated the Monday call, which touched on issues ranging from Arctic security, Ukraine and Venezuela.
