Australia’s left-wing Labor government continues to dither over a direct U.S. request to join the expanding multi-national naval force patrolling the Red Sea to keep one of the world’s major trade arteries open.
The Yemeni Shiite jihadist terror organization, known more commonly as the Houthis, has vowed to block ships heading to Israel until the offensive on the Gaza Strip is ended and has been repeatedly firing missiles at merchant ships in the area.
The international response has been to send warships to counter the attacks, with the U.S., UK, Israel, and France among the coalition forming the Combined Maritime Forces ready to fight back.
Not so Australia which seems to lack the political will to answer a call from its key ally in Washington.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said last Wednesday the federal government had yet to respond to the U.S. request, as Breitbart News reported.
“We’ll consider this request in due course, but I would note that the focus of our naval efforts right now are on our immediate region,” he told reporters in Darwin.
“In all of the decisions that we make, Australia’s national interests will be front and centre.”
Since that announcement there has been political silence with no move from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government although the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has publicly said it is ready to go.
Speaking at the Garden Island Naval base in Sydney as air warfare destroyer HMAS Brisbane was welcomed home from a regional deployment on Friday, the Commander of the Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Christopher Smith, declared the navy well positioned for any future task.
“This is an issue for government to consider, in terms of the capabilities we have in these ships, these are some of the most powerful warships in the world,” Rear Admiral Smith said.
“They are well trained crews, they are well maintained, and they are routinely in the region and active so we are ready to support any requirements that the government will ask of us.”
The RAN fleet is made up of 36 commissioned warships and eight non-commissioned as of June 2023. The main strength is the eight frigates and three destroyers of the surface combatant force.
Frigate HMAS ANZAC and air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart perform a replenishment at sea off the east coast of Australia. (ABIS Craig Walton/Royal Australian Navy)
As Australia struggled to deal with the request for the contribution of a single warship to the international flotilla working to keep international trade flowing, a Norwegian-owned vessel was attacked in the Red Sea on Monday in a strike U.S. officials said originated from Yemeni territory controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
The attack on the M/V Swan Atlantic was the latest in a series on ships sailing the sea since the start of the Gaza war.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the U.S. officials, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters the vessel was attacked by multiple projectiles launched from Houthi-controlled territory.