Tensions rise after China slams Australia for hosting Trump's Dark Eagle missile drill

China has criticised both Australia and the United States after the operation. (Image: Getty)

Beijing has branded Australia a 'tool' of the United States after the country hosted an American hypersonic missile, capable of striking mainland China, during a recent wide-scale war games exercise.

Exercise Talisman Sabre was a large-scale military operation where both allied nations integrated system capabilities and war readiness through a series of drills, some focusing on the Indo-Pacific region.

This year's operation was the largest yet, featuring more than 35,000 military personnel from across 19 countries and saw the States' military debut its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), also known as the Dark Eagle, for the first time outside of the continental US.

Operations focused on multi-domain warfare with drills taking place across the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and on Christmas Island.

Both China and Russia have seen the deployment of the weapon, which has a range of 1,725 miles and can travel at speeds above Mach 5, approximately 3,800mph, as a purposeful escalation by Donald Trump.

US Army Pacific demonstrated the weapon in Australia's Northern Territory, calling the test "a significant achievement for US Indo-Pacific Command, as it validates the Army’s ability to deploy, position, and exercise command and control of the system in a forward environment."

But, Chinese academics have criticised its use, going as far as to question the military ties between Australia and the U.S., both of which are members of the Five Eyes, a multilateral intelligence alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

“Australia has not only already been a tool of the US Indo-Pacific strategy, but is increasingly becoming both a strategic and tactical weapon for Washington across multiple aspects,” East China Normal University Australia analyst Chen Hong reportedly described.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Fudan University strategist, Xin Qiang told the Hong Kong-based South China Post that China-US military tensions were now "likely to further intensify", with both countries already embroiled in numerous trade tariff debates and the recent Chinese pushback to Trump's Golden Dome plans, which diplomats said carried "strong offensive implications".

More than 35,000 military personnel took part in this year's exercise. (Image: Getty)

Qiang continued: “I think China will certainly maintain a high level of alertness and attention to this. The military and security rivalry or competition between China and the US in the Indo-Pacific is likely to further intensify."

China itself has recently released never-before-seen footage of its elusive DF-100 supersonic cruise missile, which is capable of striking key U.S. and allied assets and bases in the Indo-Pacific theatre,

Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel J. Paparo referred to Australia as a "key ally" after the exercise, adding that is

“demonstrates the Combatant Command’s capacity to project power and support the defence of Australia, a key ally in the region.”