Gateway to the Indo-Pacific: Australian Defense Strategy and the Future of the U.S.-Australia Alliance

This report offers an American perspective on the U.S.-Australia military alliance, as it stands poised at the cusp of a new era. Located at the confluence of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Australia appears ideally positioned to act as gatekeeper to the Indo-Pacific commons, keeping watch over increasingly contested waters and fulfilling a central role in the preservation of crisis stability in Asia.

The report proceeds in three parts. First, it examines the state of the U.S.-Australia military alliance, detailing the geopolitical shifts currently underway in Australia’s immediate neighborhood and outlining the extent to which these developments signal the advent of a new era. The seismic nature of these changes has engendered a vigorous strategic debate within Australia over the future of its defense ties with the United States. The report provides a succinct overview of ongoing debates and examines three different schools of thought in Australia: the Alliance Minimalist School, the Alliance Maximization School, and the Incrementalist School. Many of the traditional assumptions at the heart of Australian strategic culture are in the process of being overturned, and the U.S.-Australia alliance is increasingly perceived as a bedrock for sustained regional stability.

Building on these observations, the second section of the report details four manners in which Australia could make greater contributions to regional security and deterrence. These operational roles are categorized as follows:

           

Supportive Sanctuary: Capitalizing on its advantageous geographical position, strategic depth and highly developed infrastructure, Australia can play an indispensable role providing access, training opportunities, logistics and repair facilities to support Allied military forces.

Indo-Pacific Watchtower: Australia’s unique geography and decades of close intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) cooperation with the United States provide the foundation for expanding its role in reconnoitering the Indo-Pacific, space, and cyber domains.

Green Water Warden: Australia’s proximity to key Southeast Asian waterways and considerable experience in the conduct of challenging amphibious and littoral operations place it in an ideal position to work alongside Indonesia in safeguarding the Sunda and Lombok Straits.

Peripheral Launchpad: Australia’s extended coastlines and position make it an ideal place from which to conduct peripheral campaigns in the Indian Ocean, such as maritime interception operations, in the event of conflict breaking out in the western Pacific.

After examining each role in depth, the report discusses how Australia’s new leadership can best align the nation’s future defense capabilities with both its operational environment and its emerging military strategy. It explores Australia’s current airpower and submarine debates and argues in favor of longer-range air capabilities, both manned and unmanned, as well as for Australia ideally to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, unmanned underwater vehicles, and submarine tenders. The third section concludes by stating that absent a greater degree of funding and budgetary consistency on the part of the Australian government, the U.S.-Australia alliance may fail to reach its considerable potential.

Available at: http://www.csbaonline.org/publications/2013/11/gateway-to-the-indo-pacific-australian-defense-strategy-and-the-future-of-the-australia-u-s-alliance-2/