After all, US and British ships, along with the French, are already on duty in the Red Sea, and more European countries are likely to answer the American call.įurther, the delay follows embarrassingly close on the heels of the US Congress passing enabling legislation for both pillars of the AUKUS agreement. Its critique reads something like this: Labor’s delay on answering the request from the United States is worryingly consistent with its decision to break from Washington in endorsing a UN call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.Īlso, the delay is another expression of Labor’s moral confusion on the current Middle East crisis. The opposition portrays it as more defence dither from the government. There is the very real potential of military casualties.Ī photo released by the Houthi Media Centre shows a Houthi gunman on the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 19. It would be no simple flying of the flag – the ship would be going into harm’s way to protect vital international trading routes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. It knows, too, that this would be a dangerous mission. The government’s delay in deciding whether to commit an Australian warship to the Red Sea can be read two ways.įrom the government’s perspective, it provides time to assess what Australia can meaningfully contribute, while not taking its strategic eye off the nation’s immediate area of concern in the Asia-Pacific.