Page 31 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2019

PACIFIC
LEFT: HMAS Parramatta prepares
to come along side during a port visit to Trincomalee in Sri Lanka as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019.
Moving capital equipment is easy; peo- ple less so.
In the west
The west has seen a massive increase in na- val activity, a timely offset to the ups and downs of the mining and oil/gas indus- tries. The continuing sustainment and up- grade work on the Anzac class, the home porting of the submarine fleet and its as- sociated training pipeline plus the 10 Ara- fura class patrol boats in due course.
The west has also been the site of the Guardian class patrol boat program, an important element of the Pacific Step Up to continue Australia’s program of region- al engagement. The Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (Sea 3036) Project is part of the Commonwealth’s Pacific Maritime Security Program (PMSP) that aims to enhance practical maritime security coop- eration across the South Pacific.
The Pacific Patrol Boat Replace- ment Project broadens and further strengthens the region’s capability to respond to issues such fisheries protection, trans-national crime, and search and rescue through the provision of patrol boats to Pacific Island nations.
The Pacific Patrol Boat Replace-
ment Program (PPBR) comprises
21 x 39.5m steel hull vessels de-
signed and constructed by Austal
for delivery to 12 Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste from late
2018 to 2023. The fourth of these boats was delivered in August this year with the rest of the production schedule on track. The boats will also be supported out of Austal’s WA facility.
It is this regional engagement program, strategic hedging, that will shape the region more than anything that rolls out of a ship- yard. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a new maritime security agree- ment with Timor-Leste, which includes a deal for Australia to fund a new wharf at the Hera naval base and provide two Guardian-class patrol boats to the country.
The announcement was made during a visit by Morrison to Dili, where he de- clared a ‘new chapter’ in relations between Australia and Timor-Leste. The commit- ment bears similarities to the one in Papua
New Guinea, where Australia and the US will help redevelop the Lombrum naval base on Manus Island.
Pacific Step Up
Speaking at the Australian National Uni- versity’s State of the Pacific Conference on 10 September 2018, Foreign Minister Payne said “Stepping up in the Pacific is not an option for Australian foreign policy — it is an imperative”.
The Step-up responds to the significant long-term challenges faced by our partners in the Pacific, including: climate change and responding to natural disasters; sustaining economic growth and boosting educa- tion, developing skills and jobs for growing populations; pursuing gender equality and recognising the essential role of women in achieving better development outcomes; preventing major disease outbreak and tack- ling transnational crime. Australia’s Step-up in engagement builds on our development assistance to the region of $1.3 billion.
The recent Pacific Island Forum in Au- gust was a chance for Australia to show leadership on a number of these fronts. It
full-cycle dockings may not be worth fighting for, particularly if moving them frees up a skilled workforce in Adelaide for the building of the Attack-class subma- rines (see P70 for more) and the Hunter- class frigates (see P58 for more).
Such a split though blows apart the sub- marine enterprise that the Coles review put in place to remediate the then dismal performance of the Collins sustainment effort; ASC would be split across two sites and the relationship with the Attack class designer and builder in Naval Group is not accounted for at all.
Despite all the technology involved in submarines, it is the people behind them that make up the capability. Any sub- stantial change to how full cycle dock- ings are managed will have to be done with all these relationships, new and old, front of mind.
did not do so, with many leaders criticising Australia in particular for its lack of action on climate change.
The military to military links with our Pacific neighbours is in better shape, with the likes of Indo-Pacific Endeavour this year (IPE19) providing a chance to combine mili- tary training and diplomatic missions across Defence, foreign affairs and the business communities on the multi-stop trip. HMA Ships Canberra, Success, Newcastle and Par- ramatta were joined by force elements from Army, Air Force and representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
IPE19 aimed to strengthen relationships and promote security and stability with Australia’s key regional partners, includ- ing Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.
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CONTEXT
“It is this regional engagement program, strategic hedging, that will shape the region more than anything that rolls out of a shipyard.”
DEFENCE