China Might Invade Taiwan As Early as 2024

By Mark Episkopos, Managing Editor, Center for Military Modernization

Dueling drills by China and U.S. allies underline a new spate of tensions in the Asia-Pacific region at a time when both Washington and Beijing are increasingly defining one another as an existential threat.

Australian and Filipino forces, supported by U.S. Marines, practiced retaking an island seized by hostile forces in joint exercises last week. The drills, involving 1,200 Australian, 560 Filipino, and 120 U.S. troops, were attended by Ferdinand Marcos Jr, president of the Philippines, and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles. The drills were joined by two cutting-edge Australian F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters and several warships including the HMAS Canberra.

“The message that we want to convey to the region and to the world from an exercise of this kind is that we are two countries committed to the global rules-based order,” Marles said in a news conference following the drills. “We are committed to an idea of a world in which disputes are determined by reference to international law.”

Manila has accused Chinese forces of blocking vessels belonging to the Philippine Coast Guard in parts of the contested Spratly Islands. A video released by Filipino authorities earlier this month appears to show a Chinese Coast Guard ship firing a water cannon at a Philippine ship running a resupply mission in one of the disputed areas.

The Australia-Philippines-U.S. drills were accompanied by a separate round of joint exercises held by Japan, Australia, and the U.S. in the South China Sea. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s largest destroyer, Izumo, took part in the exercises. The Izumo is being converted into a de-facto aircraft carrier capable of accommodating F-35B jet fighters, with a second round of renovations scheduled to begin by 2025.

President Marcos Jr. has approved plans for joint patrols with the US and Australia in the face of China’s mounting efforts to enforce its territorial claims in the South China Sea.