Australia, Philippines launch military drills near South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines — Australia on Friday launched its largest military exercises with Philippine forces, involving more than 3,600 military personnel in live-fire drills, battle maneuvers and a beach assault at a Philippine town facing the disputed South China Sea , where the allies have raised alarm over Beijing’s assertive actions.

The exercises are called Alon, meaning wave in the Philippine language, and will showcase Australia’s firepower . The drills will involve a guided-missile navy destroyer, F/A-18 supersonic fighter jets, a C-130 troop and cargo aircraft, Javelin anti-tank weapons and special forces sniper weapons.

Military officials said defense forces from the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Indonesia will join as observers.

“This exercise reflects Australia’s commitment to working with partners to ensure we maintain a region where state sovereignty is protected, international law is followed and nations can make decisions free from coercion,” Vice Adm. Justin Jones of the Royal Australian Navy said in a statement.

The combat exercises are “an opportunity for us to practice how we collaborate and respond to shared security challenges and project force over great distances in the Indo-Pacific,” Jones said.

The exercises will run until Aug. 29.

Australia is the second country after the U.S. with a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines, allowing the deployment of large numbers of troops for combat exercises in each other’s territory.

The Philippines has signed a similar pact with Japan, which will take effect next month. It is in talks with several other Asian and Western countries including France and Canada for similar defense accords.

China has deplored multinational war drills and alliances in or near the disputed South China Sea, saying the U.S. and its allies are “ganging up” against it and militarizing the region.

China claims most of the South China Sea , a busy global trade route, where it has had a spike of territorial faceoffs with the Philippines in recent years. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to the resource-rich waters.

On Monday, a Chinese navy ship collided with a Chinese coast guard ship while trying to drive away a smaller Philippine coast guard vessel in the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

The Australian Embassy in Manila expressed concern over “the dangerous and unprofessional conduct of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal involving the Philippine Coast Guard” and said the incident “highlights the need for de-escalation, restraint and respect for international law.”

In response, the U.S. deployed two warships off the Scarborough on Wednesday in what it called a freedom of navigation operation to protest China’s expansive claims, restrictions and its demand for entry notifications in the disputed waters.

In February, a Chinese J-16 fighter jet released flares that passed within 30 meters of an Australian P-8 Poseidon military surveillance plane in daylight and in international air space, Australian defense officials said at the time.

菲律宾马尼拉——澳大利亚周五与菲律宾军队举行了迄今为止规模最大的联合军事演习，超过3600名军事人员参与了实弹演习、战斗演练以及在菲律宾一个面向南海争议地区的城镇进行的海滩突击演习。此前，这两个盟友对北京在南海的强硬行动表示担忧。

此次演习名为“阿隆”（Alon），在菲律宾语中意为“波浪”，旨在展示澳大利亚的火力。演习将动用一艘导弹驱逐舰、F/A-18超音速战斗机、C-130运输机、标枪反坦克导弹以及特种部队狙击武器。

军方官员表示，来自美国、加拿大、日本、韩国、新西兰和印度尼西亚的国防部队将作为观察员参加。

“此次演习体现了澳大利亚致力于与合作伙伴共同努力，以确保我们所在的地区国家主权得到保护，国际法得到遵守，各国可以在不受胁迫的情况下做出决定，”澳大利亚皇家海军中将贾斯汀·琼斯在一份声明中表示。

琼斯说，这些作战演习“为我们提供了一个机会，让我们能够练习如何协作应对共同的安全挑战，并在印太地区远距离投送武力”。

演习将持续到8月29日。

澳大利亚是继美国之后第二个与菲律宾签署访问部队协议的国家，该协议允许双方在对方领土上部署大量部队进行作战演习。

菲律宾已与日本签署了类似的条约，将于下月生效。目前，菲律宾正与包括法国和加拿大在内的其他几个亚洲和西方国家就类似的防务协议进行谈判。

中国谴责在有争议的南海地区或附近举行的多国联合军事演习和结盟，称美国及其盟友正在“联合起来”对付中国，并使该地区军事化。

中国声称对南海大部分海域拥有主权，南海是繁忙的全球贸易航道，近年来中国与菲律宾在该地区发生领土争端。越南、马来西亚、文莱和台湾也对这片资源丰富的海域提出主权声索。

周一，一艘中国海军舰艇在南海黄岩岛试图驱赶一艘较小的菲律宾海警船时，与一艘中国海警船发生碰撞。

澳大利亚驻马尼拉大使馆对“中国船只在黄岩岛附近与菲律宾海岸警卫队发生冲突的危险和不专业行为”表示关切，并表示该事件“凸显了缓和局势、保持克制和尊重国际法的必要性”。

作为回应，美国于周三在黄岩岛附近部署了两艘军舰，称之为“航行自由行动”，以抗议中国在争议水域的广泛主张、限制和进入通知要求。

澳大利亚国防官员当时表示，今年2月，一架中国歼-16战斗机在白天于国际空域发射的照明弹距离一架澳大利亚P-8“海神”军用侦察机不到30米。