AUKUS must be more than a collection of convenient solutions.
THE 32nd Annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultation (AUSMIN) meeting was held in the US last month.
Among the major names in attendance were Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
The conversation covered several areas critical to the Indo-Pacific and broader issues central to global coordination, including technology, innovation, supply chain resilience, climate and environment.
Also of interest were the public statements regarding the conversations on Indo-Pacific cooperation and defence matters.
The AUSMIN communique covered important points for the Australian defence objectives and business community. They include a commitment to: “Continue the rotational presence of US capabilities in Australia, across air, land and maritime domains. This would include US Bomber Task Force rotations, fighters and future rotations of US Navy and US Army capabilities.”
The distinction of ‘future’ implies what comes before that word is more immediate in nature. The distinction in time is perhaps due to the elements then discussed in the communique, notably issues around Australia identifying priority locations that can “support enhanced US force posture”.
It goes on to describe “runway improvements, parking aprons, fuel infrastructure, explosive ordnance storage infrastructure, and facilities to support the workforce.”
The communique further details the importance of agile and cooperative logistics as a key element in force posture and identifies northern Australian bases and airfields as part of this strategy. This also includes a stated objective to “expand locations for US Army and US Marine Corps forces, to enable exercises, activities, and further opportunities for regional engagement.”
Japan will also be invited to participate in force posture initiatives in Australia.
This all aligns neatly with the anticipated release of the Defence Strategic Review (DSR). There is a broad consensus in the sector that further US rotations, bombers, and enhanced infrastructure in the north-west are necessary.
The intentions in this communique will help to validate those objectives and address the cooperative elements of their implementation. Sizeable opportunities for Australian businesses should result from the implementation of these enhancements.
The reference to workforce and enhanced US presence raises mild concern, in that it must not be used as a reason to refrain from expanding the Australian Defence Force or continuing to develop and promote our own defence industry capability.
We must ensure that US industrial objectives are not unnecessarily protected by its International Traffic in Arms Regulations when Australian industry could otherwise participate. I do not believe that is the intention, but it will remain an issue to watch and observe.
Readers may be aware of the recent leak of a letter to President Joe Biden from two US senators, dated 15 days after the AUSMIN communique.
In this letter, senators Jack Reed and James Inhofe (since retired) warned that supporting Australia in its need for nuclear-powered submarines may be a zero-sum game, and that the US must consider the capacity of its industrial base to meet US needs first.
This contrasts with the public statements from the US stating Australia will have no capability gap following the retirement of the Collins-class submarines. Perhaps tellingly, Senator Reed made public statements this month that diluted his earlier concerns, talked glowingly of the AUKUS arrangements, and touted intentional cooperation.
While the focus is on what the US can do, it is what Australia can do in a cooperative AUKUS initiative that appeals the most. Instead of viewing US production capacity in isolation, AUKUS partners must view the skills and production challenges collectively, as a shared problem with a shared solution.
Australian industry would welcome the challenge of engaging in production activities and participating in technology and skills transfers to enable longer-term manufacturing capability that benefits all partners. Henderson-based Austal already produces vessels for the US.
Australia needs cooperation from our partners, but our industry is capable of contributing or leading solutions to our challenges and theirs. This is particularly pertinent in the face of concerns regarding the US industrial base.
AUKUS must be more than a collection of convenient solutions. The key spirit of partnership may create awkward conversations, departures from the norm and challenging transitions as nations adjust from doing it all themselves to genuine partnership, solving problems together, for and with each other.
- Kristian Constantinides is the general manager of Airflite, and chairperson of AIDN-WA; the opinions expressed are purely his own
