2016 DEFENCE WHITE PAPER

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CHAPTER FIVE: POSITIONING DEFENCE FOR TOMORROW’S CHALLENGES
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To generate active and effective security partnerships that
enable Defence to quickly and effectively deploy in our region and
further afield, sustain these operations, and to support the capacity
of partners to operate in concert with the ADF.
To enhance international security resilience by supporting
a rules-based global order, including strong regional and
international security architectures, which protects Australia’s
interests by minimising the risk of coercion, instability, tensions or
conflict and resolving conflicts through lawful and peaceful means.
5.13 These objectives will also inform our approach to our international
defence relationships over the next two decades as addressed below.
SECTION TWO CAPABILITY
International defence relationships
5.14 To achieve the Strategic Defence Objectives, Defence will maintain and
build on Australia’s security relationships, including existing bilateral
defence relationships and multilateral security arrangements.
5.15 The benefits of practical defence engagement were demonstrated by
the cooperation between Australia and countries including the United
States, Japan, China, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and
the United Kingdom during the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines
flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean in 2014. Our investment in
developing our relationships with these partners meant we could move
more easily into operational cooperation.
5.16 Efforts to strengthen our ability to cooperate in responses to security
challenges will provide further opportunities for collaboration with
regional partners. Military modernisation within the Indo-Pacific will
improve the ability of regional countries to cooperate in areas such as
counter-terrorism, shared maritime awareness, science and technology,
capability development, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,
and integrated air and missile defence.