Defence & security, explained.
HMAS Melbourne during a deployment to the Persian Gulf in 2016 (Photo: Department of Defence)
Australia will back the US and join a maritime force in the Persian Gulf, but with no rush to deploy – which is telling.
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The reluctant coalitionThe reluctant coalition
The Australian government’s announcement today that it will contribute assets to a maritime coalition force in the Persian Gulf comes as no surprise, given the very public way the US request was delivered in Sydney at the recent AUSMIN meeting. Washington doesn’t make those type of requests unless it knows or expects it will get a positive response.
This coalition is proving as hard to build as was the Iraq invasion coalition, if for somewhat different reasons.
Australia is going to stump up with a ship, an aircraft, and a few staff officers. Hardly earth-shattering stuff. But this coalition is proving as hard to build as was the Iraq invasion coalition, if for somewhat different reasons.
There is little confidence in the strategic decision-making process at the White House. The US campaign of “maximum pressure” on Iran that got us to this point is more a series of tactical decisions with a vague strategic intent, displaying little understanding of the second-order effects of its actions. The prospect of putting assets under a US command that has great capability but little coherent strategic direction does not excite many countries.
My initial thoughts in the wake of Australia’s decision follow:
Rodger Shanahan
About the author
Rodger Shanahan
Dr Rodger Shanahan was a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute.
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