Aussies told they may be abandoned in America First era
The coalition warns that Australia must prepare for a world in which the US will not come to its aid in a regional conflict.
Senator James Paterson said he still had strong faith in the AUKUS alliance, under which Canberra would receive nuclear-powered submarines from Washington, but was realistic that the Trump administration was changing the status quo.
“It is unlike any administration before it, and as it is the second sign of the Trump administration, it cannot be dismissed as an aberration of history in a single presidential moment,” he told the ANU national security conference on Wednesday.
“Especially when the heirs of Trumpism, the heirs of Trumpism (J.D. Vance or anyone else) appear to be just as fervent believers in the Trump doctrine when it comes to foreign policy and national security.
“So Australia needs to adapt to the reality of this world; it is no longer enough to hope that the United States will come to our aid in a crisis.”
Senator Paterson said Australia should both be a better ally for the United States and make a greater contribution to the alliance by investing more in its own defense capacity.
“We must also prepare for a world where we may have to fend for ourselves and fend for ourselves in a region where we are not the dominant power,” he said.
This meant the development of asymmetric capability, where a smaller, medium-sized power like Australia would punch above its weight to deter larger adversaries from attacking.
“This looks like more missiles, drones and other such capabilities,” he said, pointing out that Ukraine had sunk Russia’s Black Sea fleet with cheap drones.
Opposition sector spokesman and former special forces soldier Andrew Hastie cited Iran’s blockage of the main oil route through the Strait of Hormuz as an example of Australia’s vulnerability to global events.
Mr Hastie said the country needed to ensure it had industrial capacity and fuel supplies to be self-sufficient as it could not rely on the international world order.
“The post-Cold War global order is now dead, and the peace dividends that guaranteed our trade and prosperity have been buried with it,” he told the conference.
Mr Hastie said Australia had failed to foresee the rise of China, Iran and Russia and their interests in undermining the peace secured by US hard power.
He said the failure to increase military capacity to prepare for global uncertainty meant it could not assist with major events, such as sending a warship to the Strait of Hormuz to aid freedom of navigation as Iran blocked oil tankers.
“Because our frigates are not protected against Iranian drones and missiles; this is a sad situation,” he said.
