The Australian government has backed its decision not to send a naval ship to the Red Sea amid attacks by Iranian-backed Houthis.
This comes after the Labor government signed a joint statement condemning Houthi attacks against commercial vessels transiting the region on Jan. 4.
In late December, news emerged that Australia had denied a request from the United States government to direct a warship to the Red Sea to protect vital trade routes from attacks by the rebels.
On Jan. 8, Acting Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite was asked on whether the government would reconsider the decision, to which he replied, “the government has made a decision.”
He noted Australia has tripled the number of troops in the Middle East and reaffirmed the current priority was in the Indo-Pacific.
Mr. Thistlethwaite said two-thirds of Australia’s shipping, along with imports and exports to the country come from the Asia Pacific.
“And that’s why the government sees the freedom of navigation exercises that we’re undertaking in particularly the South China Sea, as fundamentally important to protecting those sea lanes for Australian industry,” he said.
Former Labor parliamentarian Michael Danby has spoken out about the decision not to back the United States, saying it will be “noticed” by Washington.
Australia Condemns Houthi Attacks in Red Sea
Australia joined the United States, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom in warning the Houthis against further attacks.“We joined a number of other nations on the 3 January this year in condemning the attacks that have been occurring on commercial shipping. In that area, we’ve been pretty forthright in saying that Australia has been part of that international effort to combat that,” Mr. Thistlethwaite said.
Multiple shipping companies, including Maersk, have suspended transit.
