ADF monitors Chinese intelligence ship near Talisman Sabre

Exercise Talisman Sabre is in full swing after being officially launched on 21 July with an opening ceremony onboard HMAS Canberra.

Over the next two weeks, 13 nations will participate in high-end multi-domain warfighting across sea, land, air, cyber, and space.

“This year, more than 30,000 personnel from 13 participating nations and four observer nations will take part in Exercise Talisman Sabre,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles said.

“The scale and design of the exercise will provide more depth, complexity, and challenge for our Defence forces as we work together to build our defence cooperation.”

The People's Liberation Army Navy Dongdiao Class Auxiliary Intelligence Ship is a frequent visitor to Australia’s northern coastline.

Chinese intelligence ships have previously travelled down the west coast of Australia around Exmouth, before changing course to track east along the north-west coast.

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Australia respects the right of all states to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace, just as we expect others to respect our right to do the same, according to a statement by the ADF.

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.