Troops, planes and warships to help guard strait in Middle
East where tensions are flaring with Iran, but critics warn involvement could
breach international law.
Australian forces will make a “modest, meaningful and time-limited”
contribution to a United States-led mission in the Strait of Hormuz aimed at
protecting freedom of navigation in the Gulf region.
Labor has supported the new mission as “appropriate”, but
critics are warning the involvement of Australia’s military in the region could
be seen as an “act of aggression” in breach of international law.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced on Wednesday
that Australia would send forces to the Middle East because “destabilising
behaviour” in the Gulf was a threat to Australian interests.
“The government has been concerned over incidents involving
shipping in the Strait of Hormuz over the past few months,” Morrison said.
US defence strategy in Indo-Pacific region faces
‘unprecedented crisis’
“This destabilising behaviour is a threat to our interests
in the region, particularly our enduring interest in the security of global sea
lanes.
“The government has decided it’s in Australia’s national
interests to work with our international partners to contribute to an international
maritime security mission … in the Middle East.”
Morrison said about 15% of crude oil and 30% of refined oil
destined for Australia came through the Strait of Hormuz, meaning instability
in the region was also an economic threat that needed to be confronted.
“Freedom of navigation through international waters is a
fundamental right of all states under international law,” he said.
“All states have a right to expect safe passage of their
maritime trade consistent with international law.”
Australia has committed a frigate, surveillance and patrol
aircraft and personnel to the Middle East as part of the US-led mission, known
as the international maritime security construct (IMSC).
The United Kingdom and Bahrain are the only other countries
to join the US in the Strait of Hormuz, but the UK has appealed to European
allies to join the mission to safeguard shipping lanes.
Australian defence force members will join the IMSC
taskforce based in Bahrain, which hosts the US navy’s central command and fifth
fleet.
The defence minister, Linda Reynolds, said the Royal
Australian Air Force would send a P-8A poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft
to the region for one month before the end of 2019, while an Australian frigate
would be present for six months from January.
“Australia’s core interest in this mission is
de-escalation,” Reynolds said.
“The announcement today is clearly in Australia’s national
interest and we’re very proud to be working with our allies and our friends to
promote the global rules-based order and also the rule of law.”
Labor’s shadow minister for defence Richard Marles said the
opposition supported the commitment on the basis that it was “tightly framed”
around freedom of navigation for commercial shipping in the Gulf.
“This is an appropriate measure for Australia to take,”
Marles said.
The commitment to join the US comes after tensions simmered
in the region over the seizure of an Iranian ship by Gibraltar, with the
backing of the UK, that was believed to be heading to Syria in breach of UN sanctions.
In July, Iran seized two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which marked a
dramatic escalation in the worsening standoff in the Gulf.
The US and Iran have been engaged in brinkmanship in the
Gulf since the US withdrew from the Iran
nuclear deal in May 2018, after which the US announced a “maximum-pressure”
strategy on Tehran.
Former secretary of the defence department, Paul Barratt,
told the Guardian Australian involvement in potential military action in the
Gulf could be illegal, and argued it was “very foolish for us to get involved
in this provocative behaviour”.
“This is an application of military force. There ought to be
a debate in the parliament, and we ought not to engage in any activity that
would foreseeably involve the use of military force without that debate.”
In correspondence with the prime minister, Barratt, now
president of Australians for War Powers Reform, argued that in the absence of
any credible threat to Australia or an authorising resolution of the UN
security council, any Australian involvement in attacks on Iran would be an act
of aggression and therefore illegal.
“We appeal to you for a debate in our parliament on the
growing tensions between the US and Iran, and steps which Australia could take
to reduce them. Such a debate and a vote by all our elected representatives,
and authorisation by the governor general, as the only person with the
constitutional power to authorise the deployment of the ADF into international
armed conflict, must be absolute prerequisites before any military action is
undertaken.”
In response to Barratt, assistant minister to the prime
minister, Ben Morton, said the Australian government was deeply concerned by
current tensions in the Middle East. “A deterioration in the situation would be
counter to regional security, global trade and the best interests of Australia
and the world. We have urged Iran to refrain from escalatory action.”
Morton said the Australian government supported the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, “which serves the international community’s
interests in non-proliferation”.
Defence White Paper Expert Panel report, Guarding against
uncertainty: Australian attitudes to defence [PDF 1.7 MB]
