To counter the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific region, Australia has sent two warships and more than 260 naval personnel to participate in the French-led “La Perouse” military exercise. “The other three members of the Quadripartite Security Dialogue (QUAD), the United States, Japan and India, will also participate in the exercise to demonstrate their naval strength and commitment to freedom of navigation. (Reported by Fang Dehao)
The heads of Australia, the United States, Japan and India just held the Quadripartite Security Dialogue in March. The warships of these four countries and France will start their military exercises from Monday the 5th, and the warships concerned will sail through the Indo-Pacific region to conduct a three-day naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal.
According to the analysis, the “La Pérouse” military exercise represents the “Quadrilateral Security Dialogue” member countries are looking for regional partners to counter the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said Monday that the exercise underscores the importance of participating countries building and maintaining strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific region. “Exercise La Pérouse will showcase the complementary capabilities of our partner nations and highlight our shared commitment to a stable and secure Indo-Pacific region,” Dutton said.
Australian Navy Fleet Commander Mark Hammond said, “Participating in exercises with other navies will enhance our ability to work together and cement our commitment to maintaining strong cooperative relationships with our partners in the region.”
Hammond emphasized, “By training together, we can learn from each other and we look forward to demonstrating to our friendly forces the skills we bring to Exercise La Pérouse.”
Last month, Professor Rory Medcalf, dean of the Australian National University’s (ANU) School of National Security, told the Australian Financial Review that there is still much room for the four countries to work together on a range of security cooperation. “France is an ideal partner for the four countries to cooperate in the Indian Ocean, where it has territory and a high level of military visitation activity.”
The countries participating in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue all have varying degrees of friction with the CCP. Among them are, the CCP’s economic threat to Australia, the CCP’s geopolitical rivalry with the United States, and the CCP’s territorial disputes with Japan and India.
This is the first time India has joined a multinational joint exercise, while the U.S., Japan and Australia had participated in the La Pérouse Naval Exercise back in 2019.
In this exercise, Japan and Australia will send destroyers, frigates and submarines to participate, while India’s INS Vikramaditya (INS Vikramaditya) carrier is under repair, so India will send destroyers, P-8I Poseidon type patrol aircraft and submarines to participate in the military exercise. But the report said the United States did not send the country’s aircraft carriers.
According to the Times of India, the U.S., France, Australia, Japan, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will also be held in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman between April 25 and 27, including aircraft carriers, maritime patrol aircraft and attack submarines “Varuna” (Varuna) exercises to verify that they from the Persian Gulf to the Straits of Malacca.
Recent Comments