Overview

• Talisman Sabre 2025 involves over 30,000 personnel from Australia, the United States and 19 partner nations in drills across Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea through August 4.
• Defence Minister Richard Marles said there is no evidence of Chinese surveillance so far and warned that observation could begin in the coming days.
• The Australian Defence Force has reinforced operational security, tightening electronic and communications protocols to limit intelligence collection.
• Chinese spy ships monitored the exercises in 2023 and Beijing’s February live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea disrupted commercial flights and prompted diplomatic protests.
• Officials say the drills test alliance interoperability and affirm a rules-based maritime order vital for protecting Indo-Pacific trade routes.