China Taiwan live fire drills: Australia ‘deeply concerned’

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In February 2025, a flotilla of three Chinese warships travelled within 150 nautical miles of Sydney, raising alarm bells after they performed live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea that forced the diversion of commercial flights. Concerns over the actions of the Chinese navy near Australia returned last month as the government monitored a Chinese navy task group in the Philippine Sea.

Australia does not formally recognise Taiwan as a sovereign nation, but has long maintained a commitment to maintaining the current independence of the island.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in July, said, “we support the status quo when it comes to Taiwan, we don’t support any unilateral action there”, under questioning over the role Australia could play in a potential conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.

In July, the Financial Times reported that US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby, the man who ordered the review of the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact, has been privately pushing Australia and Japan to commit to backing the US in any future conflict over Taiwan.

In November, Taiwanese representative to Australia, Douglas Hsu, implored the federal government to consider including the island nation in the pact.

with Bloomberg and Reuters

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