Australia's defence chief says Canberra is watching China's Taiwan moves very carefully

Australia's Chief of the Defence Force, Adm. Mark Hammond, said in Tokyo on 15 October 2026 that Canberra is watching China's activities regarding Taiwan very carefully, according to Kyodo News, as he wrapped talks with senior Japan Self-Defense Forces officials aimed at deepening bilateral security cooperation.

It was Hammond's first interview with a Japanese news organisation since he took the top uniformed post in July. Asked whether Australia would send troops if a Taiwan contingency erupted, he declined to give a clear answer, Central News Agency reported, citing the Kyodo exclusive. Hammond framed the visit as part of a wider push to tighten Australia-Japan defence ties rather than as a one-off media stop.

Hammond argued that security and stability in the Indo-Pacific are best served by maintaining the status quo and adhering to a rules-based system. He said the region appears to be experiencing the largest increase and modernisation of military capability since World War II, and voiced concern that the buildup is proceeding without the reassurance that comes through transparency and dialogue.

The fuller Kyodo Chinese-language account said Hammond's remarks were framed with China's July submarine-launched ballistic missile test into the South Pacific in mind. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised concerns with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after that launch, the report added, linking the strategic warning in Tokyo to a recent missile event that landed far from China's coast.

On Japan-Australia force development, Hammond said he looked forward to Australia's planned new frigates based on an upgraded Mogami-class FFM design, calling the ships an important part of the navy's force-structure plan, with the first hull expected for delivery in December 2029. He also flagged faster sharing of classified information with the Self-Defense Forces as a live interoperability issue that still needs practical fixes.

Turning to AUKUS, Hammond said whether partners can harness artificial intelligence while managing its risks will be decisive, and he noted that Australia is already advancing the use of AI in warfare, according to Kyodo. The comments land as Japan and the United States prepare the Keen Sword exercise later in October and as Taiwan's defence ministry continues to publish daily tallies of PLA aircraft and ships operating around the island.

Kyodo's English report focused on the scale of the regional military buildup and the transparency gap. The CNA rewrite for Taiwanese readers led with the Taiwan watch line and the refusal to pre-commit forces, underlining how the same interview is being read differently in Tokyo and Taipei.

For Taipei, a public statement from Australia's top officer that Beijing's Taiwan-related activity is under close watch, paired with a refusal to pre-commit troops, is a useful readout of how a key AUKUS partner talks about the Strait while it buys Japanese-designed warships and deepens SDF links. The interview still leaves open how far Canberra would go beyond status-quo language if a crisis forced a choice between alliance signalling and direct military involvement.