“We are increasingly looking to the Indian Ocean”: Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, Chief of the Royal Australian Navy
By Serge DeSilva-Ranasinghe*
THE rise to prominence of the Indian Ocean region in Australian strategic thinking has been a salient matter ever since the advent of the Two Ocean Navy policy in 1987, which led to half of the Navy’s major fleet assets being transferred to HMAS Stirling. Today the region holds an unprecedented importance to Australia’s strategic interests and is the subject of much ongoing debate.
