Australia and Germany are working to “make it much easier” for defence personnel from both countries to be stationed in each other’s territory, Defence Minister Richard Marles has announced.
Mr Marles and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius held talks in Canberra on Thursday to discuss deeper defence co-operation amid the war raging in Ukraine and simmering tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
“We share values, we are democracies, we respect freedom of speech, we respect the rule of law at home and internationally,” Mr Marles told reporters at a post-meet press conference.
“The rules-based order is deeply important to both of our countries and … to be able to work closely with Germany is critical in what is a very challenging world.
“And today, there is a deep sense of connection between the Indo-Pacific and Europe.
“The moment that we saw a ‘No Limits Agreement’ signed between Russia and China on the eve of the war in Ukraine really was the moment that a war in Eastern Europe became critically important to Australia.”
Mr Marles and Mr Pistorius also signed a “letter of intent” to bolster co-operation in space.
With companies across the world looking to space to usher in a new era of economic growth, governments are scambling to establish ground rules even as international norms on Earth collapse.
“Both our countries seek and need to strengthen their military capabilities, not only in the traditional domains but also particularly in space,” Mr Pistorius said.
“We have therefore put security in space high up on our agenda, and I’m very pleased to have you on our side.”
He went on to say that Germany would pump €35bn ($A58bn) into defence space systems, with sensors top-of-mind amid advance Chinese and Russian “offensive capabilities”.
“They are able to jam, blind or deploy kinetic energy weapons or to destroy satellites,” Mr Pistorius said.
“This means we need to be aware of what is going on up there. This is the only way to protect our own systems, and to that end, we intend to establish an independent global network of surveyors and sensors.
“You could call it an early warning system for space, and today, we signed a letter of intent to make this happen.”
‘We need to do more’
Speaking at the National Press Club later, Mr Pistorius said Western middle powers such as Australia and Germany “need to do more” on sharing what their spies dig up on potential adversaries.
He pointed to intelligence sharing between China, Russia and Iran.
The three countries are so-called CRINK states – a term used by international strategists to group autocratic regimes vying to usher in a multipolar world where global decisions are made not only by the likes of Washington and London but by Beijing and Moscow.
China and Russia have reportedly shared satellite imagery and other intelligence with Iran as it strikes American and Israeli targets in the Middle East.
Mr Pistorius said that while it remained unknown “how much China really trusts Russia and vice-versa”, obsessing over it was not useful and that Western allies needed to pay more attention to their own actions.
“If you are always focused on the adversary … you never act in your sovereignty,” he said.
“You are manipulated by fear. And decisions made on the basis of being manipulated by fear are always the wrong decisions.”
Appearing alongside Mr Pistorius, Professor Rory Medcalf, who heads the National Security College at the Australian National University, also backed stronger intelligence sharing to help like-minded countries to get a better picture when piecing together threats.
“I think if we’re trying to make sense of this strategic situation, we can’t be living in a kind of echo chamber that we have … where sometimes, although we get high quality (intelligence) assessments from our friends … they’re often too familiar to our own thinking,” Mr Medcalf said.
On the China’s co-operation with Russia, he said it was “not only intelligence sharing now”.
“Russia is an actively disruptive power in the Indo-Pacific,” he warned, adding that Moscow was using informational warfare and “unpleasantly creative strategic diplomacy” in Southeast Asia.
“So we need to be sharing notes with our European partners at all times on these issues.”
