Singapore Participates in Large-scale Military Drills with 16 Countries

On August 20, it was reported that the Royal Australian Air Force is holding the “Pitch Black” joint military drills, a large-scale training event with 16 other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

Based in Darwin, northern Australia, the military exercise includes more than 100 fighter jets and thousands of personnel drilling combat scenarios conducted throughout the day and night until September 8.

Other countries participating in the military exercises include Canada, Germany, Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, the Australian Defense Department said in a statement.

Australian Air Commodore Tim Alsop, the commander of the exercise, said in an interview that “Pitch Black” was strictly a training event and not meant to be “against” any country, despite rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.

The goals of the military drills are well known. Last month U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military has become more aggressive and dangerous in the past five years. The CCP’s purposeful outward expansion of influence is alerting because it is not doing it in good faith. The CCP is a potential security issue for allies and partners in the region.