Sending Australian navy to Middle East not a priority
Aaron Bunch and Tess Ikonomou |
Australia is not contemplating sending a warship to help reopen one of the world’s most crucial oil corridors amid global economic disruption.
US President Donald Trump has requested a naval coalition made up from different countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has closed in response to the US-led war to give itself leverage in the conflict.
Shipping has been extensively disrupted, sending global oil prices skyrocketing.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government would consider any request to take part in the conflict through the lens of the national interest.
“We’ve not received a request from the United States in respect of the Straits of Hormuz,” he told Nine’s Today program on Tuesday.
“We’re not contemplating sending a ship, but we’ve not received a request.”
Military analyst and former naval officer Jennifer Parker said sending the navy to the Middle East wasn’t a priority for Australia.
“Sending a ship there (the Strait of Hormuz) would undermine our preparedness and upgrades to our own navy,” she said.
“Our navy is in a different position to where it was in 2024 when the US did request Australia send a ship to the Red Sea.”
She pointed to the US national defence strategy released earlier this year, which prioritised its allies focusing on and securing their own regions.
Labor rebuffed a US request to send a warship to the Red Sea to help defend shipping routes from attacks by Houthi rebels.
Washington has also asked its allies to massively increase their defence spending in a bid to share the security burden.
It comes as Australia’s leading aid agencies launched a public appeal to raise urgent funds to support relief efforts in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank.
“Thousands of people who’ve been killed or injured, millions of people have been displaced from their homes, and tens of millions are living in fear,” Save the Children Australia chief executive Mat Tinkler told AAP.
“We’re asking for the Australian public to show their generosity and goodwill to help people in this terrible situation overseas.”
Almost one million people have been forced to flee their homes in Lebanon as a result of the war, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
In Iran, more than 3.2 million people have been displaced, with reports of about 1300 killed and more than 9000 injured since the conflict began in late February.
People in war-torn Gaza and Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and the West Bank are also being impacted as refugees cross borders and aid lines are cut, severing access to food, clean water, fuel and medical supplies.
Australian donations to the appeal will help the charities provide food, shelter, water, sanitation, medical and school aid, as well as support families “who are living with basically nothing right now”.
The charities hope to raise millions of dollars and say the funds will have an immediate impact.
Save the Children Australia, Plan International Australia and Oxfam Australia are among the 15 charities behind the joint Middle East Appeal.
People can donate by visiting the website or calling 1300 939 000.
AAP