China’s military power display causes trepidation

China and Malaysia will conduct the "Peace and Friendship-2025" joint exercise in Malaysia and nearby waters in mid-to-late October 2025, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

With the theme "humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and maritime security," China and Malaysia will deploy multi-service forces for a joint live-fire drill, and other ASEAN member states will be invited as observers, reports Global Times.

As the sixth iteration of this series of joint exercises, it aims to strengthen practical cooperation between the militaries of China and Southeast Asian nations, improve their ability to respond jointly to non-traditional security threats, and maintain regional peace and stability.

According to publicly available information, the first "Peace and Friendship" joint exercise was held in 2014, when Chinese and Malaysian militaries held their first tabletop game in Malaysia. The second edition of the Peace and Friendship joint exercise was held in 2015, which marked the two militaries' first live-action joint drill. The third, fourth and fifth editions of the joint exercise were held in 2016, 2018 and 2023 respectively, with more countries participating.

Zhang noted that the regularly held joint exercise series not only boosts capabilities, deepens traditional friendship and enhances mutual trust between China and Malaysia, but also serves the interests of other countries in the region by contributing to peace and stability in the South China Sea, Zhang noted.

China has also conducted joint exercises with other Southeast Asian countries this year, such as the China-Singapore "Exercise Cooperation-2025" joint maritime exercise in May in Singapore, China-Cambodia "Golden Dragon-2025" joint exercise in May in Cambodia, and China-Thailand "Falcon Strike-2025" joint air force training in September in Thailand, according to previous announcements by the Chinese Defense Ministry.

At a time when certain countries have been rallying external forces to stir up troubles and undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea, pragmatic military cooperation between Chinese and other Southeast Asian countries is conducive to peace and stability in the region, Zhang said.

Participants and observers for 2025’s iterations include the U.S., Philippines, Australia, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Italy, Canada and New Zealand. BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), BRP Valentin Diaz (PS-177), USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) and JS Onami (DD-111) are among the vessels confirmed to participate in the exercise, which is set to run Oct. 6-17.

While most activities and location areas remain unclear, a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force news release stated that Onami will hold a tactical exercise to improve anti-surface warfare capabilities with U.S. and Philippine forces. Manila has increasingly turned to international partners to help bolster its naval forces via training exercises amid tensions in the South China Sea with Beijing.