Australia and Nato members begin air combat drills as China tensions grow

A total of 17 countries will take part in the biennial Exercise Pitch Black, with Germany, Japan and South Korea participating fully for the first time
The exercise shows Australia is trying to play a more proactive role in potential regional conflicts, observer says

China’s military

Amber Wangin Beijing

Published: 8:00pm, 19 Aug 2022

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Australia kicked off a large-scale air combat exercise with Nato members and Indo-Pacific countries on Friday amid rising tensions in the region.

A total of 17 countries will take part in the biennial Exercise Pitch Black in Australia’s Northern Territory from August 19 to September 8. Germany, Japan, and South Korea will be full participants for the first time.

The exercise comes at a time of rising tensions between China and the US and its allies over the Taiwan Strait, where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted military exercises in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei earlier this month.

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According to the Australian air force, the exercise is designed to test and improve multinational force integration and “recognise Australia’s strong relationships and the high value we place on regional security and fostering closer ties throughout the Indo-Pacific region”.

As many as 2,500 personnel and 100 aircraft will take part in the exercise, including participants from Nato members Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States as well as Nato partners New Zealand, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. The air forces of Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will also take part in the drill.

Relations between Canberra and Beijing have not improved significantly since the Australian election in May.

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Beijing accused Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong of “finger-pointing” in her criticism of Chinese military exercises around Taiwan earlier this month.

Wong also signed a joint statement with the United States and Japan that condemned the firing of missiles into Japan’s exclusive economic zone and accused China of “raising tension and destabilising the region”.

China has said there is no exclusive economic zone in the waters where the missiles landed because the two nations have not agreed on the limits.

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Chen Hong, a professor of Australian studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said this year’s exercise was evidence of Australia’s growing military ambitions and was more targeted than previous drills.

“It is held at a time when the situation in the region is sensitive and it has clearer strategic and tactical goals than ever before,” Chen said.

He said the exercise was a clear sign that Australia was trying to play a more proactive role in potential regional conflicts.

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Reuters reported that Germany would deploy 13 military aircraft, including six Eurofighter jets, three A330 tankers and four German A400M transporters, to the drills – one of the largest peacetime deployments by the country’s air force.

However, German air force chief Ingo Gerhartz downplayed the message for Beijing, saying, “I don’t think we are sending any threatening message towards China by flying to an exercise in Australia.”

He also denied that German warplanes would fly over two regional flashpoints, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, the Reuters report said.

South Korea has sent six KF-16 fighter jets and one KC-330 multirole tanker transport, along with around 130 military personnel, to the exercise to “enhance combined operational capacity and military cooperation with participating countries”, the country’s air force said.