Latest news with #RoyalAustralianNavy
The Diplomat
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Diplomat
Australia, UK Sign Landmark Defense Deal
Last week, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles hosted their counterparts from the United Kingdom for the AUKMIN discussions. These now annual talks have become more critical to Australia as the AUKUS initiative has developed, and particularly due to the chaotic and unreliable nature of the agreement's third party, the United States. The central outcome of the visit was the signing of the bilateral Nuclear-Powered Submarine Partnership and Collaboration Treaty by Marles and the U.K.'s Secretary of State for Defense John Healey. It's informally known as the Geelong Treaty, given that it was signed in the Victorian city of Geelong, where Marles represents an electoral district. Keen to show off his electorate – and the two countries' camaraderie – Marles also took Healey for a beer at a local brewery. The Geelong Treaty commits Australia and the U.K. to the next 50 years of defense cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I. This involves the design, build, operation, and maintenance of new fleets of nuclear-powered submarines for both the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The subs are scheduled to enter into service in the 2030s for the U.K. and the 2040s for Australia. The treaty will support the development of the personnel, infrastructure, and regulatory systems that Australia needs to be capable of running a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines – all of which it currently lacks. The two countries also agreed to port visits and a rotational presence of the U.K.'s current Astute-class submarines in Australia. In highlighting the importance of the agreement, Marles stated, 'In military terms, what it will deliver is the biggest leap in Australia's military capability, really, since the formation of the navy back in 1913.' The signing of the treaty came as the largest British navy presence in 30 years arrived in Darwin – including its flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales. The vessels are in Australia for the 11th iteration of the Talisman Sabre exercise, currently being conducted across northern Australia and Papua New Guinea with 30,000 personnel from 19 countries participating. Australia's defense strategy is often depicted as simply a reliance on Washington, and a hope that the U.S. will maintain a commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. Yet, there is a broader strategy of seeking to encourage other states with resources and shared worldviews into the region. Most of Australia's 'like-minded countries' exist within Europe, and the region is suffering from its own serious security threats at present, complicating Australia's strategy. However, the U.K. has signaled with its large contingent to Talisman Sabre – over 3,000 personnel – that London sees maintaining stability in the region as critical for their own interests as well. As the world's economic center of gravity has shifted to the Indo-Pacific, it is clear that while Russia's belligerence is a European threat, any attempt by China to alter the status quo across the Taiwan Strait would be globally catastrophic. But it is not just the Taiwan Strait that both countries are concerned about. The joint statement from the AUSMIN discussions highlighted that: 'Ministers reiterated their strong opposition to coercive or destabilizing activities by China's Coast Guard, naval vessels and maritime militia in the South China Sea, including sideswiping, water cannoning and close maneuvers that have resulted in injuries, endangered lives and created risks of miscalculation and escalation. Ministers agreed to continue cooperating to support freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, including through participation in joint activities.' Approximately 12 percent of the U.K.'s annual trade passes through the South China Sea, making its stability a vital national interest. It is the economic interests of European countries within the region that provide greater assurance to Australia. While they may not have the raw power of the United States, deterrence is a psychological game as much as one of power, and the greater the number of states demonstrating their commitment to regional stability, the more Beijing will need to think twice about its actions. The other game at play is how countries like Australia and the U.K. can keep the U.S. on the same page, particularly in light of the current U.S. Defense Department review of AUKUS. The friendly and cooperative spirit of the AUSMIN discussions was also a signal to Washington about what proper allyship looks like. The signal may have been too subtle for those currently in the White House, or they may simply not care, yet managing and influencing Washington in new ways is now an essential part of how countries like Australia and the U.K. conduct their security and diplomatic relations.
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
British navy's largest vessel docks in Darwin, as port's defence capability tested
The British navy's largest vessel has docked at Darwin's naval base in the first visit of its kind in almost 30 years, in what the British High Commission says is a demonstration of its "commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific". Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is leading a "strike force", made up of vessels from 12 countries, in an eight-month deployment sailing from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. On Wednesday, the ship docked at Darwin's naval base HMAS Coonawarra after two weeks of operations associated with Exercise Talisman Sabre. Lieutenant Emily Woolcott was responsible for driving the ship into Darwin waters, which she said was a complex process for the 280-metre long and 70-metre wide ship. "This morning [Wednesday] we've had to fly on the pilot via [helicopter], get them off safely and then make sure we have the right speed to get in," Lieutenant Woolcott said. Lieutenant Commander Neil Pitt, the officer-in-charge of the ship's flight deck, said the deployment had been "full on", with crews working 24 hours a day with multiple NATO and allied forces. "We've had the Italians with us as we came back through the Mediterranean, the Americans recently, Australians embarking with rotary wing [and] New Zealanders," he said. The British High Commission said in a statement in June the Prince of Wales' visit "reinforced [the UK's] long-term strategic commitment to the Indo-Pacific region". HMS Prince Wales crew members will be on shore leave in Darwin until next week, before the vessel departs for Japan. The Canadian frigate HMSC Ville De Quebec is one of the vessels being led by the Prince of Wales, and was this week involved in testing missile rearmament at the Port of Darwin. The ship was disarmed of its operational Harpoon missiles at the port, and rearmed with practice missiles, on Monday as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre. The rearming of foreign warships in northern Australia first occurred in Darwin and Broome in September 2024, in what the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) said in a statement was "proof of concept" Australia could support foreign militaries from northern bases. "It doesn't matter which of our allies requires a rearmament, Australia needs to be able to prove that it can do that through its own supply chains" Commander of HMAS Coonawarra, Captain David Shirvington, said this week. "Most of our munitions storage facilities are located in the south of Australia, and so to be able to get them up here and transfer them onto our military assets creates time and space for us to project forces from the north of Australia." In May, the ABC revealed that at least four ports around Australia, including the Port of Darwin, were expected to subject to an expansion of existing US contracts for arms handling by subcontractors. Former naval officer Jennifer Parker, an expert associate at the National Security College, said the establishment of rearming facilities at the Port of Darwin was an "unsung" development in the defence of northern Australia. "Prior to 2024, for ships to rearm missiles they would either need to go down to Eden, which is well down on the southern NSW coast, or HMAS Stirling [in Western Australia]." The Prince of Wales' Captain Will Blackett said operations conducted during Exercise Talisman Sabre, such as the rearming and testing of missiles, were a demonstration of collective force. "One of the major points of all this is you never want to use it for real, so you spend a lot of time showing people what you can do, and then making friends and influencing people to be on your side," he said.
The Age
19-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
Rudd pushes back on US claim that Australia needs to ‘step up' on defence
Washington: Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has pushed back against claims Canberra needs to step up its contribution to the collective deterrence of China in the Indo-Pacific, telling a security conference that Australia had already done the things now being asked of it by the Trump administration. Rudd said Australia led the way in identifying strategic concerns about the rise of China and its military force, citing the 2009 defence white paper he released as prime minister, and had made corresponding changes to its defence strategy. 'Without saying 'we told you so', we did,' Rudd said when asked whether Australia needed to increase defence spending more urgently in response to recent Chinese military exercises in the region. 'If you look at the trajectory of what our government has been doing – reallocation of resources to the Royal Australian Navy, the movement now in terms of nuclear-powered submarines - that consciousness [about China] has been alive and well in our part of the world.' Rudd noted the high level of integration between the two nations' navies. 'We are cheek by jowl with the United States in the Indo-Pacific. We know what new capabilities are required. We're investing in those capabilities. So we're pretty bullish about our contribution to collective deterrence going forward,' he said. The former Labor prime minister was addressing the Aspen Security Forum on Saturday (AEST) at a critical moment in Indo-Pacific relations as the US pushes regional allies to lift defence spending and make clearer commitments about what they would do in a conflict involving the US and China over Taiwan or other issues. Specifically, the Pentagon is seeking undertakings about how its Virginia-class submarines would be used once they are sold to Australia under the AUKUS agreement, and is also calling for the Albanese government to lift defence spending by about $40 billion a year, to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Confirming a recent news report that said the Pentagon had asked Australia and Japan to clarify what they would do in a conflict with China, the US official leading the AUKUS review, defence undersecretary Elbridge Colby, said the US was urging allies to 'step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence'.
Sydney Morning Herald
19-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rudd pushes back on US claim that Australia needs to ‘step up' on defence
Washington: Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has pushed back against claims Canberra needs to step up its contribution to the collective deterrence of China in the Indo-Pacific, telling a security conference that Australia had already done the things now being asked of it by the Trump administration. Rudd said Australia led the way in identifying strategic concerns about the rise of China and its military force, citing the 2009 defence white paper he released as prime minister, and had made corresponding changes to its defence strategy. 'Without saying 'we told you so', we did,' Rudd said when asked whether Australia needed to increase defence spending more urgently in response to recent Chinese military exercises in the region. 'If you look at the trajectory of what our government has been doing – reallocation of resources to the Royal Australian Navy, the movement now in terms of nuclear-powered submarines - that consciousness [about China] has been alive and well in our part of the world.' Rudd noted the high level of integration between the two nations' navies. 'We are cheek by jowl with the United States in the Indo-Pacific. We know what new capabilities are required. We're investing in those capabilities. So we're pretty bullish about our contribution to collective deterrence going forward,' he said. The former Labor prime minister was addressing the Aspen Security Forum on Saturday (AEST) at a critical moment in Indo-Pacific relations as the US pushes regional allies to lift defence spending and make clearer commitments about what they would do in a conflict involving the US and China over Taiwan or other issues. Specifically, the Pentagon is seeking undertakings about how its Virginia-class submarines would be used once they are sold to Australia under the AUKUS agreement, and is also calling for the Albanese government to lift defence spending by about $40 billion a year, to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Confirming a recent news report that said the Pentagon had asked Australia and Japan to clarify what they would do in a conflict with China, the US official leading the AUKUS review, defence undersecretary Elbridge Colby, said the US was urging allies to 'step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence'.
West Australian
17-07-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Sussan Ley says Anthony Albanese needs to do more to call out Chinese navy for circumnavigating Australia
Sussan Ley says Anthony Albanese should have done more to call out the Chinese navy for its circumnavigation of Australia, saying she was 'disappointed' China's President Xi Jinping did not give his assurance that it would not happen again. Ms Ley said Australia wanted a 'respectful relationship' with China, but said the Prime Mininster needed to 'hold his ground'. 'We wish the Prime Minister well on his visit to China, and of course we want to see more trade and tourism,' she told Today on Thursday. 'I am disappointed that there wasn't an assurance that we wouldn't have a repeat of circumnavigation of our coastline, live firing, civilian aircraft having to be diverted out of that airspace. 'It's not good enough. We want a strong, respectful relationship, but that respect has to cut both ways. 'It's important to demand that accountability, it is important in those government-to-government conversations that the Prime Minister holds his ground.' Mr Albanese raised the February circumnavigation and live-firing exercise with President Xi during his trip to China this week. 'I said what I said at the time, which was that it was within international law … but that we were concerned about the notice and the way that it happened, including the live-fire exercises,' Mr Albanese said. 'In response, of course, President Xi said that China engaged in exercises just as Australia engages in exercises.' Defence Minister Richard Marles on Thursday repeated it was crucial China acted in accordance with international law. 'It is much more the case that the Royal Australian Navy is in the vicinity of China than the Chinese Navy is in the vicinity of Australia,' he told the ABC. 'We're not trying to establish some standard in the vicinity of Australia which would impede our work with the Royal Australian Navy in the vicinity of China, which is actually much more the case. 'We're not there gratuitously; we're there because that's where our sea lines of communication are. 'That's where we need to be asserting rules based order and freedom of navigation. 'It is really important that the Royal Australian Navy is able to continue its work there, so what we seek is that China . . . acts in accordance with international law.' But Mr Ley took aim at Mr Marles, saying it was not his job to make excuses for China. 'Richard Marles' job is not to make excuses for the Chinese Communist Party, but to actually hold them to account,' she said. Opposition spokesman James Paterson echoed Ms Ley, saying it was 'troubling' to see President Xi had played down Australia's concerns about his flotilla's journey. 'I'm pleased the Prime Minister raised it, but it is troubling to see that President Xi was dismissive about this, and that the People's Liberation Army Navy can be expected to conduct more live-firing exercises like this in the future in our region without notice, just like it does around the Philippines Vietnam ... or Taiwan,' he told told Sky News. 'We've seen really significant escalation of military exercises around Taiwan in a way that should be troubling to all Australians because what we believe in is the preservation of the peaceful status quo across the Taiwan Strait. 'It is critically important that the Prime Minister, I hope, has used the opportunity of meeting with China's leaders during this visit to reaffirm that with absolute clarity and unambiguously.' Mr Paterson also claimed Mr Albanese's trip to China, which included retracing Gough Whitlam's steps at the Great Wall, was starting to look 'a little bit indulgent'. 'I do wonder whether a Gough Whitlam history tour on the Great Wall of China, whether a visit to Chengdu to pose with some pandas, and whether a hit of tennis is strictly necessary as part of a six-day visit to China, when there is so much else at stake in our other international relationships around the world,' he said. 'And frankly, I have to say that some of this is starting to look a little bit indulgent.' Mr Albanese's trip has been centred on repairing business and trade ties after a diplomatic spat under the Morrison government triggered a series of damaging import bans on key commodities, which have since been lifted.
