This week in Australian foreign affairs: The Department of Defence confirms Iranian strikes have struck the Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will welcome the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to Australia, Australia and New Zealand aim to further integrate their defence forces, and more.
On 16 March, the Department of Defence announced that The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has deployed a P-8A Poseidon aircraft and 50 aviators to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam for Exercise Sea Dragon 2026. Held throughout March, Exercise Sea Dragon 26 is United States Navy-led, multinational, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) training activity involving the Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. According to the Department, participants will be challenged on speed, accuracy and coordinated mission execution. These exercises strengthen ASW proficiency and enhance interoperability among partner forces. The Department affirmed “The RAAF fleet of 13 P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft plays an important role in Australia’s long-range strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability, and forms an essential component of Defence’s ability to operate across the Indo-Pacific.”
On 17 March Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles MP and Foreign Minister Penny Wong hosted New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters MP and Defence Minister Judith Collins KC MP the our annual Australia-New Zealand Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations (ANZMIN 2+2) in Canberra. In addition to the 2+2 meeting, the Australia-New Zealand DefenceMinisters’ Meeting and Foreign Ministers’ Consultations were also held in Canberra. During the meetings, the Ministers discussed the Bondi Terrorist Attack as well as the evolving situation in the Middle East. Perhaps most notable was the Minister’s welcoming of the “Anzac 2035: Operationalising the Alliance” Joint Statement.
In this Joint Statement, Australia and New Zealand committed to “operationalising our Alliance with a vision of being able to operate seamlessly as an increasingly integrated, combat capable Anzac force by 2035, while remaining respectful of our status as two sovereign countries. In the face of a sharply deteriorating security environment, we must be ready to meet the security threats we face today and in the future.”
The ANZAC 2035: Operationalising the Alliance Joint Statement lines out six “lines if effort” in which Australia and New Zealand will seek to futher integrate their defence forces in ways such as deepening force posture cooperation, common procurement and more.
A joint media release announcing the meetings said: “Ministers recognised that the trans-Tasman relationship is more important than ever given the fundamental shifts in the global geostrategic environment and the risks posed to our shared national interests. They reaffirmed Australia and New Zealand were fundamentally aligned and rising to the challenge of permanent strategic contest through closer cooperation and major strategic investments by both countries to strengthen the fabric of peace in our region.”
On 18 March, The Department of Defence confirmed that Iranian strikes had struck the Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. Al Minhad Air Base hosts more than a hundred Australian military personnel however the Department confirmed that “No ADF personnel were injured in the incident, and all ADF personnel deployed to the Middle East are safe and accounted for.” The strikes are said to have only caused “minor damage to an accommodation block and medical facility in the Australian section of the base”.
On March 18th it was announced that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will welcome the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to Australia from Monday, 23 March to Wednesday 25 March 2026. The visit marks President von der Leyen’s first visit to Australia as President of the European Commission. The visit also marks the 7th meeting between President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Albanese. During her time in Australia, President von der Leyen will be accompanied by EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič.
This visit is one of many recent visits by European leaders to Australia, as the two regions strive to strengthen relations in an increasingly volatile world. The Office of the Prime Minister released a statement which said Australia and the European Union “cooperate on a broad range of international issues, including maintaining the multilateral rules-based trading system, security and defence, climate change, critical minerals and meaningful social media reform for the protection of young people.”
On March 19th Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held a press conference in Hobart to address the issue of fuel security and the conflict unfolding in the Middle East. During the press conference, the Prime Minister affirmed “my Government has been working to protect Australians from the effects of the Middle East war. We’ve already taken a number of significant and indeed unprecedented actions. This morning, I convened the National Cabinet to address fuel security and supply chain preparedness in Australia in response to the conflict in the Middle East.”
Continuing, the Prime Minister gave context to the ongoing issues: “Today, National Cabinet acknowledged that the longer the conflict in the Middle East goes, the more significant the impact will be for global supply chains, fuel prices and the wider economy. And it’s also understood by Australians that this is a global issue that we are dealing with. The conflict is an unprecedented shock to global energy markets. The International Energy Agency has called it the biggest in history. Already, Australians are feeling the consequences of this. And I’m deeply concerned by attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure, including the latest overnight in Qatar. We condemn Iran’s ongoing and reckless reprisal attacks in countries across the region who are not parties to this conflict. We do not want to see the conflict escalate further.”
The Prime Minister concluded his press conference by stating that Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon had been damaged by recent military actions.
Alexandra Desailly is an Australian Outlook Intern at the Australian Institute of International Affairs National Office. She is one of thirty selected for the Young Australians in International Affairs (YAIA) Emerging Leaders Dialogues and the winner of the YAIA Policy Pitch Competition. She holds a Bachelor of International Studies with Distinction from UNSW; her work focuses on European current affairs, national security, and diplomacy.
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