Download - Royal Australian Navy

address to international fleet review
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this requirement but this conflict should not, in my opinion, be an impediment to our
collective and coordinated response. Navies have traditionally operated in constabulary
roles in support of national requirements. The response of each of our navies should
be to leverage off the collective benefit gained through closer ties and coordination.
Increasing the frequency and coherency of our strategic dialogue, especially in the
area of maritime domain awareness and data sharing, in combating transnational
crime ensures not only the required synchronisation of efforts to be effective, but also
assures each of our nations’ prosperity and sovereignty.
The deployment of Australia’s new Armidale class patrol boats and increased patrol
routines in Australia’s wider strategic approaches illustrate how we are addressing
the requirement. It goes hand in hand with an increase in coordination and visibility
of this requirement between Australia and our regional neighbours. All of our efforts
should seek to ensure the continuance of good order at sea and therefore our ongoing
regional security and assured economic prosperity from these non traditional threats.
Discussing our concerns openly continues to give us the opportunity to resolve
differences of opinion and build confidence between us all to maintain a strong regional
maritime security framework. It also affords us the opportunity to develop combined
operating concepts and mutually acceptable procedures, building on the individual
successes of the past. There should be no conflict between pursuing a common response
to a common, transnational threat, and protecting our national sovereignty through
maritime security. It is a natural recognition of the common good to littoral states and
user nations of such a maritime system which is a good outcome of globalisation and
a key to our post-modern navies in the 21st century.
Development of ideas and capabilities in these fora must be further encouraged. For
example, we unite in our response to humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters
in our region. Reproducing this in a maritime security framework is both achievable and
necessary in ensuring each of our national aims, sovereignty and economic prosperity
is maintained. The current seminar, Building a Comprehensive Security in the South-East
Asia Region, is an important development in our efforts to better coordinate the maritime
security response to non traditional, transnational threats. All states are especially
interested in these security outcomes in the contemporary globalised world; to achieve
the outcome that we seek all states must provide important contributions to the agenda. I
therefore appreciate the opportunity to participate in this important dialogue in pursuing
the overall agenda of maritime security, not only as the representative of the RAN, but
also as a professional mariner, interested in our assured maintenance of security. The
opportunity provided by Admiral Purdijatno and the Indonesian navy through this very
important effort collectively to further and strengthen our architecture and dialogue
addressing maritime security is a welcome one. It is an effort which has great benefit to
all nations who are subject to the effects of globalisation, where an attack on one maritime
nation affects the security and prosperity of us all.