Japanese destroyers with US and British carriers pictured during operations in the Philippine Sea in 2021.Credit:AP
Predictably,of the topics discussed,the two which featured most prominently were the Ukraine war and the rise of China. It is often overlooked that the Ukraine war is a sea war as well as a land one;one-third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been either sunk or disabled since the conflict began.
Meanwhile,the relentless rise of China is,from a military perspective,primarily the story of the expansion of Chinese naval power. It is estimated that the People’s Liberation Army Navy will reach a complement of 400 major vessels (surface and submarine) by 2026.
A great deal of the discussion focused on AUKUS. However,Australia was barely in the room. Inexcusably,not a single officer of our navy had bothered to travel from Canberra to attend our AUKUS partner’s principal naval strategic forum. The only Australian naval representation was the relatively junior officer who is the naval attache in London. The high commissioner,Stephen Smith,attended the opening session.
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So,while the chiefs of the British navy discussed AUKUS with senior admirals from the United States (including Admiral James Kilby,the vice chief of naval operations),the chief of staff of the Japanese navy (Admiral Ryo Sakai),and admirals of other navies,not a single Australian voice was heard. It was embarrassing that,as our key strategic partners were discussing Australia’s most important naval initiative,we were not part of the conversation.
Our absence reflected what is becoming increasingly apparent not just in London,but in other European capitals as well:that Australia’s attention has shifted entirely away from Europe – despite the fact Europe’s largest military power is also one of our two most important defence partners and the ultimate supplier of most of the AUKUS submarine fleet.
Admiral Ryo Sakai,chief of staff of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force,speaks to the conference about AUKUS.