The Defence Strategic Update: Maritime Strategy and the Law
Dr Cameron Moore*
This article was first published in the Australian Naval Review, 2020, Issue 2, in December 2020.
In the face of a deteriorating strategic outlook, Australia needs to have a maritime strategy which prevents isolation and preserves its independence. The recent Defence Strategic Update[1] and Force Structure Plan,[2] together with existing maritime doctrine,[3] serve this aim through seeking to defend a rules based international order. As identified in the Update, success in this aim will require considerable international cooperation with both friendly and neutral nations, requiring ‘a focus on strengthened international engagement, particularly with the United States, Japan, India, ASEAN and other allies and partners in our region’.[4] This demands an approach which carefully applies international and domestic law to provide legitimacy to maritime operations.
