Months after declining a United States request to deploy a warship to the Middle East, the Royal Australian Navy is preparing to assume command of an international maritime task force dedicated to protecting shipping lanes around the Red Sea, the ABC reports.
Military sources have told the ABC that authorisation has been given for Australia to take over from Italy in leading Combined Task Force (CTF) 153, which is operated under the broader US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), headquartered in Bahrain.
A small number of personnel are expected to be sent for the mission, which is likely to be headed by a naval captain, but again there are no plans to deploy an Australian warship or other defence assets.
Personnel and warships from 44 nations take part in CMF operations aimed at countering piracy and terrorism threats in crucial international shipping lanes across the Middle East region, with each country electing which missions it wants to complete.
CTF 153 was established in 2022 and is one of five task forces operated by the CMF, with its stated mission to “focus on international maritime security and capacity-building efforts in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden”.
Currently, the task force staff includes as many as 15 Italian and international military personnel from CMF member nations, who are due to end their rotation in October this year when Australia’s Navy is anticipated to take command for the first time.
Last year, the Albanese government faced criticism for not responding to Washington’s international request for naval support against Houthi rebel attacks, but Australia later announced up to seven ADF personnel to support “Operation Prosperity Guardian” counterstrikes.
Australia is yet to publicly confirm its pending takeover of CTF 153, with the government instead pointing to existing personnel contributions to the CMF under Operation Manitou and support of US and UK strikes on Houthi rebels under Operation Hydranth.
The full report is here.
