editorial

Recently, US-led multinational military drills have been staged in Australia and the West Pacific region.

From mid-July to August 4, the largest-ever multinational military drill Talisman Sabre involving about 40 000 troops, 30-odd large and small warships and at least 70 fighters of 19 countries was staged under the joint sponsorship of the US and Australian forces.

It was the first time in history that such huge armed forces had conducted the military drill, advancing to the northern coast of a neighbouring island country thousands of kilometers from the northeastern part of Australia. This year's drill, the eleventh of its kind, shows that the scope of the drill has steadily expanded to the whole of the Asia-Pacific region.

It is needless to say that all the contents and elements of the drill, including the all-round domains containing the sea, ground, air, cyber and space, amphibious operations, anti-ship operations, landing operations and other combined operations, and live firing involving ultra-modern fighters and long-range missiles, were very hot and provocative.

Before the powder smell faded away, warship strike groups of the US, Britain, Australia, Japan and other countries launched a large-scale naval joint military drill in the West Pacific from August 4 to 12.

In the drill, joint exercises adjacent to the actual war environment were staged in a frantic way. The latest F-35B stealth fighters from the US nuclear carrier George Washington and British carrier Prince of Wales landed on Japan's virtual aircraft carrier Kaga.

Every drill of them poses a serious threat to the regional security environment. The situation in which the US-led multinational military drills were held in succession is unprecedented, and it is quite natural that the regional countries express concern over this.

There is no guarantee that the wind and waves in the West Pacific will not develop into a tidal wave to hit the whole Asia-Pacific region.

The US-ROK large-scale joint military drill Ulji Freedom Shield against the DPRK will be staged in a frantic way on the Korean peninsula from August 18, and most of the countries, which participated in the recent multinational military drills in the West Pacific region including member states of the "UN Command", will take part in this drill.

It is reported that the British carrier strike group, too, will not return to the Atlantic Ocean, its home base, despite its long voyage, but will participate in several military drills targeting regional countries by calling at Yokosuka Port in Japan.

As seen above, the next arrow of the US-led multinational military actions frequently taken in the West Pacific is clearly drawn to the depth of the Asia-Pacific region.

It is quite clear that the joint military drills of the US and its satellite countries, which continue to escalate military tension while expanding the scope of their activities one after another in the Asia-Pacific region, will entail very negative consequences for the security environment of the regional countries.

The regional countries hope that the region will become a pacific sea and a peaceful zone as the name of the Pacific says.

If the US and its satellite countries persist in military actions of disturbing peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region, they will surely face the resistance and retaliation by the regional countries.

The US and its vassal forces should not underestimate the will of the regional countries to defend peace and security in Asia Pacific by taking physical counteraction.