This week in Australian Foreign Affairs, the Australian Government raises its travel advice again for countries in the Middle East, Australia and Singapore strengthen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with new agreements on economic resilience and regional security, the government announces new advancement in AUKUS submarine infrastructure and long-range missile capabilities, and more.
On 24 July, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced they would be raising the travel advice for Kuwait and Bahrain to a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’, citing the deteriorating security situation across the Middle East and the increased risk of further regional escalation. The updated advice on SmartTraveller urges Australians not to travel to either country due to the heightened security environment.
In a Joint Statement with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that Australia and Singapore have signed a new Protocol on Economic Resilience and Essential Supplies. The agreement is designed to strengthen cooperation on critical supply chains during periods of disruption. In a time of growing global uncertainty, Penny Wong attributes the Protocol as an essential mechanism to ensure “Australia and Singapore can respond together to disruptions and maintain access to the supplies our economies depend on.”
On the same day, the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Trade and Tourism alongside their Singaporean counterparts released a Joint Communique following the 15th Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee Meeting held in Adelaide. Covering issues including net-zero ambitions, economic resilience, regional stability and cybersecurity cooperation, the communiqué reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to advancing cooperation across all pillars of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2.0.
Last week, the Australian Government announced the appointment of a designer for the submarine contingency dry dock, marking another step in delivering AUKUS capabilities and Australia’s conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine program. Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the project demonstrates AUKUS delivering “long-term industrial capability and highly skilled jobs for Australians.”
On 31 July, Minister Wong announced Australia’s plan to send aerial firefighting assets and emergency personnel to France to assist the country’s response to recent wildfires. The deployment includes Rural Fire Service personnel, Chinook and Bell 412 aircraft, and builds on Australia’s long-standing cooperation with France in disaster response. Minister for Emergency Management Kirsty McBain said Australia was “only too happy to do whatever we can to assist, just as France came to our aid during the 2019–2020 Black Summer Bushfires.”
This week Penny Wong will be visiting Fiji to attend the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers meeting. The visit follows the signing of the Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance last month, two landmark agreements aimed at strengthening cooperation on regional security, resilience and shared prosperity between Australia and Fiji.
On 6 August Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that he will be welcoming the General Secretary and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, His Excellency, Mr To Lam, on his first official visit to Australia. Arriving on the 9th and leaving on the 12th of this month, Mr To Lam’s visit will include a meeting between the two countries’ leaders to discuss avenues for deepening Australia-Vietnam cooperation. The Prime Minister welcomes the visit describing the bilateral relationship as “grounded in deep strategic trust, mutual interests, and a shared ambition for the future of our region.”
Also on 6 August, during Exercise Pitch Black in Darwin, the Defence ministry announced the Australian government procurement of new advanced missiles. The almost $736 million acquisition from the United States’ government will make Australia the first country outside of the US to operate the AIM Joint Advanced Tactile Missile. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles described the investment as “the latest milestone in the delivery of long-range, high‑tech capabilities for our Defence Force.”
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