Australia urged to boost military stance in key region
Australia should take advantage of the moment of “true strategic opportunity” caused by the Iran war to expand Defense’s focus to a significant part of the Indian Ocean.
Research published by the Lowy Institute suggests the Australian military’s international engagement should be expanded to include the north-west Indian Ocean, as this region remains the artery of the global economy.
“Disrupted trade routes, an unprecedented concentration of great power assets and the fragility of existing institutions have created a moment of real strategic opportunity for Canberra,” said report author Alexander Lee.
“After relying on others for a century to secure the Indian Ocean, Australia now has the geography, alliances and credibility to chart its own course.”
The think tank points out that ocean trade is concentrated in “choke points” such as the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca.
The report comes after the US-led war against Iran caused damage to oil refining capacity and reserves, as well as increased fuel and fertilizer costs.
The Trump administration’s war is estimated to cost $2 billion a day.
The research suggests that Australia is unusually well placed to shape the post-war Indian Ocean order because it has the region’s largest exclusive economic zone and strong relations with regional powers.
“The Iran war and intensifying great power competition have transformed the Indian Ocean from a strategic backwater into one of the most unstable maritime areas of the last decade,” the statement said.
Dr Lee is calling on the federal government to take advantage of the conflict in the Middle East to deepen cooperation with Japan, India and France to help keep the ocean open and stable, before China fills the void left by a distracted Washington.
The research showed that disruptions from the Iran war at the western end of the Indian Ocean’s trade corridors threaten Australian and regional economic security as much as they do in the north-east.
