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138 australian maritime issues 2009: spc-a annual
military, from the strategic down to the tactical level of operations, and such factors
have also played their part in the conduct of offshore deployments. To this end, the
first question for Australia has always been whether its military should be sent abroad
under the protective mantle of a ‘great and powerful friend’, or should it concentrate
on the direct defence of the continent?
Since Federation, Australia has variously cooperated with either Britain or the United
States (US) to underpin the nation’s security. Even in the 21st century, this is clearly
manifested in ongoing defence agreements and treaties and in Australia’s continued
involvement in regional affairs. Within this context, Australian expeditionary operations
have clearly predominated, particularly in the thirty years after World War II (WWII)
under a declared policy of forward defence. Forward defence provided for the projection
of force offshore to ostensibly halt any potential threat, particularly communism, before
it reached Australian territory. In 1965, when Prime Minister Menzies stated that ‘the
takeover of South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia and all the
countries of South and Southeast Asia’ the policy resulted in Australia’s expanded
commitment to the conflict there. 3 In fact, under forward defence:
Australia would be the southern support base for operations in
the Asia-Pacific area. Its armed forces were to be developed and
maintained to operate as an adjunct to much larger Allied armies in
Korea, Malaya and Vietnam. 4
Australia’s commitment to Vietnam aside, the nation’s expeditionary contributions to
foreign wars in the last 100 years have also included both World Wars, Korea, Malaya,
Borneo and recently, the Middle East and Afghanistan. In fact, during World War I (WWI)
more than 20,000 troops had left Australia by the end of 1914, and in the following
four years another 280,000 further volunteers would follow on active service with the
Australian Imperial Force (AIF). 5 Just under 65 per cent of these troops were killed or
wounded, the great majority in the northern hemisphere. 6 Although such conflicts have
been costly, one consequence of projecting force has been the ostensible guarantee from
alliance partners to assure Australia’s security should it ever be directly threatened.
However, it is debatable whether such expeditionary campaigns have truly secured
Australia or whether they have constituted an inherent weakness in foreign policy.
Conversely, continental defence focuses solely on the defence of Australia independent
of reliance on other nations. Interestingly, the Defence Act 1903 enshrined this policy
which resulted in the formation of expeditionary forces during both World Wars.
The militia, as Australia’s permanent military force, was forbidden to serve outside
Australian territory. 7 The aftermath of WWI and the economic climate of the inter-war
years saw a return to Australia’s continental defence strategy, however the policy was
largely superseded by world events in the late 1930s. Australians subsequently fought
in expeditionary campaigns during WWII and post-war in Korea and Southeast Asia. By
1972, the Whitlam government believed that Australia must take a more independent