Push to upgrade military ties with Israel

Australia and Israel should upgrade military and diplomatic relations, according to a major report.

A new report says Australia and Israel should develop closer defence and foreign affairs ties. Picture: Getty Images

Australia should ­upgrade military and diplomatic relations with ­Israel to tap into its expertise in counter-terrorism and hi-tech weapons systems, according to a major ­report to be released today.

Australia could benefit from ­Israel’s expertise in unmanned aerial systems, ship-borne missile defence, cyber-warfare, armoured vehicle protection, smart sensors and a range of other capabilities.

Both nations are intimate US allies and operate a great deal of common US defence equipment, including soon the F-35A version of the Joint Strike Fighter.

The report, The Wattle and The Olive by Anthon­y Bergin of the Australian Strat­egic Policy Institute and Efrai­m Inbar from Israel’s Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, suggests Australia and Israel eventually would have enough common strategic and political interests to sustain a two-plus-two dialogue of foreign and defence ministers.

It also suggests Canberra could help Israel ­enhance the diplomatic progress it already has made in Asia. Israel has a longstanding ­defence relationship with Singapore, and has built something similar with India. It has a big and growing trade relationship with China, including high-level military exchang­es, and a long relationship with Japan.

The report said although Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, is not as hostile to Israel as many Muslim nations, Jakarta does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

As a way of moving this relationship forward, the report suggests that: “Australia should convene a low-key, second-track dialogue with Indonesia and Israe­l to share strategic assessments, ­especially as they relate to violent Islamist extremism.”

It argues that while Australia and Israel are strong supporters of each other and ­celebrate their shared political values, there is a lack of understanding on both sides of their shared strategic interests. As a result, “there’s a lot of rhetoric from both sides about the relationship, but not a lot of substance ... the relationship is in many ways underachieving”.

The authors ­believe Australia should not view Israel primarily through the lens of the Palestinian issue.

It argues strongly that an ­enhanced relationship with ­Israel would not damage Australia’s standing in the Arab or ­Muslim world and adds: “Arab countries are quietly getting closer to Israel becaus­e of the rise of Iran in the ­region and because of the fear of radical Islam. There is no evidence that Australia’s relationship with ­Israel has in any way hindered its defence relations with Arab countries, its defence engagement in Southeast Asia or the Pacific, its international effort­s to counter terrorism and proliferation, or the ability of the Australian Defence Force to oper­ate in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

The report cites Canberra’s strong defence relationship with the United Arab Emirates, saying: “It’s just plain false that the level of Australia’s international influence, credibility, defence diplom­acy or leadership has suffered through its relations with Israel.

“Middle East countries take it as a given that Israel and Australia have close relations.’’

The report was produced for the second Beer Sheba Dialogue, to be held in Sydney today. The talks bring together politicians, think tank leaders, strategic analysts, ­former senior officials, diplomats and ­former senior military ­figures from Australia and Israel.