Troop boost to Middle East but no ship to Red Sea
Australia is unlikely to send a warship to join a new mission but is set to deploy more personnel to the Middle East, amid pressure to respond to a US request.
Australia is unlikely to send a warship to join a dangerous new mission in the Red Sea but is set to deploy more personnel to the Middle East, amid pressure on the Albanese government to respond to a US request for Australia to be involved.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will announce details within days of Operation Prosperity Guardian – a new multinational task force to combat attacks on commercial shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The US Navy asked Australia to send a warship to join the operation, but after the Albanese government made it clear in initial talks that its primary focus was the Indo-Pacific, it is understood the US has decided to modify its request.
The growing number of attacks on ships, which forced a US warship to shoot down 14 drones on Saturday, has jeopardised transit through the Red Sea, prompting major shipping countries to suspend voyages through a waterway that carries 10 per cent of the world’s cargo.
Australian Defence officials will speak to US counterparts on Tuesday, when they are expected to be told that an Australian ship is no longer being sought for the operation. A modified request from the US will give political cover for the Albanese government, which was under increasing pressure to explain why it had not agreed to the US Navy request.
Instead of sending a warship, Australia is likely to agree to deploy more defence force personnel to shore-based roles with the US-led Combined Maritime Force in Bahrain. There are currently five ADF personnel working at CMF headquarters.
The Albanese government told US officials the Australian Navy’s priority was in the immediate region where it has been playing a role in securing freedom of navigation in the South China Sea at a time when Chinese navy harassment of foreign naval warships and planes is on the rise.
The initial request came just days before the US Congress gave the green light to the unprecedented transfer of three nuclear submarines to Australia under the AUKUS partnership. Anthony Albanese said on Monday his government was giving appropriate consideration to what was a “general request to a range of nations”.
“Of course, our first priority is in our own region, and certainly the United States understands the important role that we’re playing, including freedom of navigation and other issues in our region,” the Prime Minister said.
It’s understood that if the Red Sea security situation worsened and Mr Austin issued a direct appeal to Defence Minister Richard Marles to supply a warship for the operation, the government would prioritise the request.
Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said the government was “dithering” on the decision.
“This is an important request by our closest security partner, coming soon after the passage of the AUKUS legislation in Congress,” Mr Hastie said. “If they are putting the ADF in harm’s way, they need to explain why and what mission they will be undertaking. If not, they need to explain why they are not deploying the RAN, and detail the strategic and operational considerations.”
Last month several Australian naval personnel aboard the ANZAC frigate HMAS Toowoomba suffered minor injuries after being subjected to sonar pulses from a Chinese warship off the coast of Japan. Mr Marles described the incident as an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction”.
Last week four HMAS ships – Toowoomba, Stalwart, Brisbane and Choules – returned from a three-month deployment in northeast and southeast Asia.
Some military insiders believe the government’s reluctance to send a warship to the Red Sea reflects a parlous shortage of ships and crew, especially over the Christmas period. The navy has only three well-armed ships – its 48-missile-cell Air Warfare Destroyers – of which one, HMAS Hobart, has just come out of extended maintenance and another, HMAS Brisbane, returned from a three-month Asia deployment last week.
Only the AWDs would be suitable for such a dangerous deployment because they have enough firepower to shoot down missiles and drones fired by the Houthis in Yemen, which have been targeting commercial shipping in sea lanes in the Red Sea.
Some experts question whether an Australian ship or crew was “battle ready” given that no Australian warship has fired a shot in anger since the Iraq War in 2003.
Mr Austin, who is currently in the Middle East, will announce the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian during his trip.
More than 20 ships have reported incidents or attacks in recent months in a campaign which Houthi rebels claim is in protest at Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
One ship, the Galaxy Leader, was boarded by rebels and captured last month.
A British destroyer and a French frigate have joined two US warships in the Red Sea.
On Saturday, the USS Carney shot down 14 drones sent towards Israel by the Houthis.
A British Type-45 destroyer also shot down a drone, marking the first time a Royal Navy ship had shot down an aerial target since the first Gulf War in 1991.
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