Australia’s military is ready to deploy with its allies if needed in Asia or beyond, its defence forces chief said May 8 at the conclusion of military drills in the South China Sea with the US, Philippines and others.

“If our governments were to make a decision, if in this region or elsewhere, that we have to work together, we have the confidence that we have got the ability,” Admiral David Johnston, the head of Australia’s military, said in an interview in Manila. “We’ve tested it, we’ve trained, we’ve practised it.”

Adm Johnston was in the Philippines for the end of the Balikatan military exercises, in which about 400 Australians participated alongside more than 15,000 personnel from the Philippines, the US, Canada, Japan, France and New Zealand.

Before flying to Manila he met in Canberra with the head of US forces in the Pacific, Admiral Samuel Paparo. Adm Johnston was appointed to his current role in 2024 and will step down in July. 

Australia aims to conduct more military activities, including trainings with countries like Japan and Indonesia, in line with the goal of a stable Indo-Pacific and South-west Pacific, Adm Johnston said.

“We do everything we can to deter conflict from beginning,” he said.

The exercises featured the first Japanese combat troops in the Philippines since World War II, with soldiers from the Ground Self Defence launching anti-ship missile to help sink a retired warship, while the US also fired a missile from a system it moved to the island-nation a few years ago.

Nations across the region are looking to boost defence spending, with Australia planning to spend billions of dollars more, including on new Japanese-built warships to beef up its navy.

Japan is also l...