Talisman Sabre expansion shows countries concerned about China
- The Talisman Sabre started as a joint exercise between U.S., Australia
- This year,13 total countries are taking part in the biennial event
- Former defense secretary says this shows the countries' 'resolve'
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(NewsNation) — Over a dozen nations are flexing their military muscle right now in the Pacific Ocean in a massive show of force, held every two years, called the Talisman Sabre.
What started in 2005 as a joint exercise between the U.S. and Australia has expanded this year to 13 nations and more than 30,000 military personnel.
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said these exercises increase the United States and Australia’s effectiveness, interoperability and warfighting capability while deterring Chinese “bad behavior.”
Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Britain, Canada and Germany are taking part in this year’s exercise.
The fact that Talisman Sabre now includes 13 total countries shows that the Chinese aggressiveness and policies under Chinese leader Xi Jinping have created “a lot of concern” in the Indo-Pacific region, Esper said.
“It’s really pulling together, banding together like-minded countries around the United States and Australia and other Western democracies to push back on China and send a message of resolve,” Esper said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
