Australia will not send a warship to the Red Sea as part of international efforts to safeguard cargo from attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The United States had issued a request to 39 countries that are members of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) to bolster efforts to keep the critical shipping route open.
The Red Sea is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean.
Up to 15 per cent of the world’s trade flows through the area, including millions of barrels of oil.
In recent days oil giant BP announced it would “temporarily pause” all ships heading through the Red Sea, while major shipping companies including Maersk have stopped using the route until further notice.
For days the federal government has suggested a Royal Australian Navy ship would not be part of its contribution, with Defence Minister Richard Marles confirming on Thursday that extra defence personnel would be sent to the region instead.
“We won’t be sending a ship or a plane,” Mr Marles told Sky News.
“That said, we will be almost tripling our contribution to the combined maritime force.
“We need to be really clear around our strategic focus, and our strategic focus is our region — the north-east Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Pacific.”
An extra six Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel will be sent to Bahrain, which is home to the CMF headquarters, in the New Year.
Over the course of 2024 there will be up to 16 ADF personnel committed to the CMF — an increase on the five currently stationed — which the Australian government says is comparable to commitments made by other countries such as Canada.
Seemingly critical of the announcement, a US official told the ABC that Australia could not “pretend global problems don’t require global solutions”.
Earlier this week the United States launched a naval force specifically aimed at keeping the Red Sea open to trade, named Operation Prosperity Guardian.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain would be taking part.
The federal opposition had accused the government of dithering over its decision and said anything short of sending a warship to the Red Sea would not be viewed favourably by Australia’s allies.
Military experts had questioned whether Australian ships were properly configured to provide assistance in the region.
(ABC)
