Page 72 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2021

72 DEFENCE BUSINESS VIEW FROM CANBERRA
OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
VIEW FROM
CANBERRA
Back on February 19, 1942, Japanese aircraft bombed Darwin harbour, the first and largest of more than 100 air raids on northern Australia which became progressively less effective as defences improved.
A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT | CANBERRA
THIS was one of those momentous occasions in Australia’s history. For the first time, the mainland had been attacked and seriously damaged and there wasn’t much we could do about it.
One enduring consequence of those raids on Darwin is that residents of the north are now far more realistic about, and appreciative and supportive of, national defence than many down south.
So, it raises the obvious question – how did the NT gov- ernment come to lease Darwin harbour to a Chinese-owned company, a deal endlessly dissected and
generally regarded as a poor decision?
current arrangements could inhibit future US force posture decisions in northern Australia.
While none have gone on the public record, rumours abound that defence industry primes were nervous about storing, maintaining and operating capabilities in a Chinese- run port, ASPI said.
However, anything China wants to know about activities in Darwin harbour, it can surely find out from multiple other sources, including its own satellite imagery.
In fairness to the NT government, Australia’s relationship with the PRC in 2015 hadn’t reached the depth it has now. Neither was the north’s
In 2015, the NT decided to lease the port to Landbridge Infrastructure Aus- tralia, a subsidiary of the Chinese-owned Shandong Landbridge Group.
This surely seemed a good idea at the time – Landbridge paid $506 million in return for the 99-year lease, taking over responsibility for port operations and promising ongoing investment.
strategic importance quite as apparent. So, what to do? According to the ASPI analysis, there are various options, start- ing with business as usual and retaining existing arrangements, building a whole new port for Australian defence and bor- der security purposes and use by allies, ending the lease, or finding a more ac-
ceptable tenant.
ASPI said the harsh reality was a deci-
sion had to be made sooner rather than later. Whatever path was chosen, it seems China has to go.
This all raises another question – is there anywhere else that national strategic assets are potentially compromised by the presence of businesses controlled by foreign powers?
The one that springs to mind is an iron ore mine operated by Chinese-owned CU River within the Woomera Protected Area. Last year the company closed its mine after Defence refused expansion plans.
That certainly demonstrates government will uphold the national interest where China is concerned in a manner which would have been inconceivable not that far back. Ex- pect more of it. ■
ABOVE: HMAS Canberra alongside Fort Hill Wharf in the Port of Darwin.
“ANYTHING CHINA WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT ACTIVITIES IN DARWIN HARBOUR, IT CAN SURELY FIND OUT FROM MULTIPLE OTHER SOURCES”
Financially this was a good deal for
the NT, less so for Landbridge, which
has yet to turn a profit though it does have a plenty of lease left to run. Its plans for a luxury waterfront hotel appear to have stalled, although it does have plans for additional facilities to support Defence, Australian Border Force and the mining industry.
Amid the ongoing war on terror and the emergence of a new enemy in ISIS in Iraq and Syria, it may be that those down south weren’t paying too much attention when the deal was under deliberation.
But not long after it emerged that the port of Darwin had been leased to the Chinese, it all pretty much hit the fan. Among those deeply unhappy were the Americans.
The issue really seems to be more about the optics, cou- pled with vague security concerns which no-one seems to be able to define.
In a recent paper canvassing options for the harbour, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) cautioned that
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