CANBERRA — Australia and the United Kingdom signed a landmark Indo-Pacific security pact on Monday committing to joint naval patrols, intelligence sharing on Chinese maritime activities, and a mutual logistics agreement that would allow each country’s forces to use the other’s military bases in the region. The agreement, signed by Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and his British counterpart in Canberra, marks the most substantive defence partnership between the two nations since the ANZUS alliance was expanded in the 1950s. It explicitly references the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait as areas of “shared strategic concern.” China’s embassy in Canberra condemned the agreement as “a Cold War mentality that will destabilise the region.” The US State Department welcomed the pact, calling it “a force multiplier for freedom of navigation.”
The agreement includes provisions for coordinated coast guard operations in the Coral Sea and the Malacca Strait, where Chinese fishing fleets have increasingly operated in disputed waters. Australia will gain access to British naval facilities in Diego Garcia, while the UK will be permitted to use Australian bases in Darwin and Perth for forward staging. Both governments emphasised the pact is not directed at any single country, though the joint communiqué lists “coercive maritime behaviour” as the primary threat it aims to counter. Defence analysts said the agreement effectively gives the UK a persistent Indo-Pacific presence without permanently deploying a carrier group. The deal now goes to both parliaments for ratification, expected before the end of the financial year.
Marles told a press conference in Canberra that the pact represented “the most significant expansion of our Indo-Pacific partnerships since we signed AUKUS.” His British counterpart, Grant Shapps, said the agreement would “ensure the rules-based maritime order is defended in every corner of the Indo-Pacific.” The communiqué stops short of invoking mutual defence obligations, but includes a clause committing each side to “timely consultations” if either country’s forces come under attack in the region. Japan and New Zealand were both briefed on the talks and issued statements of support, with Tokyo calling the pact “a welcome reinforcement of democratic maritime governance.”
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called the agreement “a classic Cold War bloc mentality” and warned that Beijing would take “proportionate and necessary countermeasures to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests.” China’s state media ran editorials accusing the UK of attempting to “recolonise the Indo-Pacific through the back door.” The Global Times said the pact would “accelerate regional polarisation and undermine ASEAN’s centrality.” Military analysts noted the agreement for the first time gives the UK a legal framework for basing troops in northern Australia, effectively creating a joint deterrence posture against potential Chinese aggression in the Taiwan Strait.
Written by Kenji Tanaka, Asia Pacific Correspondent
