China's Foreign Ministry has sharply criticised Australia after it conducted another joint military exercise in the South China Sea with the US and the Philippines, accusing all three nations of trying to "create trouble", the ABC reports.
The Royal Australian Navy's destroyer HMAS Sydney joined a guided missile frigate from the Philippine Navy and aircraft from both the US and the Philippines last week to conduct the drills.
Clashes between China's coast guard and vessels from the Philippines have intensified over the last 18 months, and several countries — including the US, Japan, Australia and Canada — have responded by stepping up joint military exercises with the Philippines in the contested waters.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing that the United States was using the Philippines as a "pawn" against China, and that Manila had "brought in and collaborated with forces outside the region to create disruptions and flex military muscles".
"The US and other countries outside the region have patched up small groupings in the South China Sea to stoke confrontation in the name of cooperation, flex military muscles in the name of freedom, and create trouble in the name of upholding order," he said.
China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory, and has ignored a 2016 ruling which found that claim had no basis under international law.
Australia hasn't responded directly to China's most recent criticism but the Department of Defence said last week the joint exercise was aimed at "build(ing) mutual understanding and interoperability between nations and armed forces."
"Australia and our partners share a commitment to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, and other maritime rights under international law," the department said.
"By training and operating together, forces can build upon shared tactics, techniques, and procedures to enhance interoperability and readiness to respond to shared security challenges."
Australia joins defence exercise in contested South China Sea
Photo shows P8 Poseidon
The Australian Defence Force has announced that it will join another military drill in the contested waters of the South China Sea, where there have been a series of increasingly dangerous confrontations between China and the Philippines.
China has been trying to force the Philippines off several disputed areas in the South China Sea, with Manila accusing Beijing of bullying behaviour and intimidation.
The US, Australia and the Philippines conducted joint exercises in the South China Sea with Japan in February. Australia also sent a surveillance aircraft to take part in joint exercises with the US, Philippines and Canada in August last year.
Analysts say China's recent partial navigation of the Australian mainland was aimed, in part, at dissuading the Albanese government from joining multilateral exercises in the South China Sea.
But the Albanese government has been adamant that doing so is critical to maintaining international law and freedom of navigation in the region, and signalled that it has no intention of reducing its activity in the region.
China’s Foreign Ministry has sharply criticised Australia after it conducted another joint military exercise in the South China Sea with the US and the Philippines, accusing all three nations of trying to “create trouble”, the ABC reports.
