10 August 1990
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) had a significant presence in the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) between 1990 and 2021. There had been 68 individual ship deployments across 6 separate Australian operations. This near continuous presence meant that duties changed regularly to reflect changing strategic circumstances.
The first RAN deployment came as a reaction to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. The United Nations Security Council established a complete economic embargo. Australia then contributed to the multinational force that assembled in the Gulf region to enforce the sanctions.
For the following decade, the RAN maintained a regular single-ship presence in the Middle East, either in the Red Sea or the Gulf.
After the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the Australian government increased the RAN’s presence, under Operation Slipper. Another 3-ship task group arrived in the Gulf by December 2001:
- frigates HMA Ships Sydney (IV) and Adelaide (II)
- amphibious transport HMAS Kanimbla (II).
Thereafter, the Defence Force maintained at least 2 Australian warships in the MEAO until mid-2003.
Australia’s involvement in multinational efforts to develop a secure and stable environment in Iraq began in July 2003. For the following 5.5 years, the RAN rotated a warship into the Gulf for periods of up to 6 months. The most important task was providing around-the-clock protection for the infrastructure that was vital to Iraq’s economic recovery.
In May 2009 the Australian Government announced that the frigate already deployed in the Middle East under Slipper would also take on counter-piracy operations. This was in addition to carrying out counter-terrorism and maritime security patrols.
Over the following decade, Australia’s major contribution to Middle East maritime security continued in the western Indian Ocean. This is especially true as piracy off the coast of Somalia emerged as an issue.
The frigate’s counter-piracy efforts formed part of the US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). This is a maritime partnership made up of 44 nations that contribute flexibly to uphold the international rules based order.
Ultimately, in December 2020, then Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds, CSC announced that the Defence Force would reduce its naval presence in the Middle East. This would enable more resources to be deployed to the Indo-Pacific. This decision included stopping the annual frigate deployment.