Australia Inks Military Deal with UK, Joins Drone Coalition to Support Ukraine

UK Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps (left) and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles sign Defence Treaty documents in Canberra, Australia, on March 21, 2024. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Australia has agreed to join the “drone coalition” led by the United Kingdom and Latvia to support Ukraine in the war against Russia’s invasion.

This comes as Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and his UK counterpart Grant Shapps signed a military pact on March 21, making it easier for the defence force of each country to access the other’s territories.

During a press conference after the agreement signing, Mr. Shapps emphasised the importance of drones in the Ukraine war.

“Drones are a new factor in that war that two years ago played a very small part and now are playing an increasingly significant, increasingly sophisticated part,” he said.

The UK defence secretary also believed that joining the drone coalition would help boost the defence of both Australia and Ukraine.

“Countries who invest in the drone coalition are not just doing it for Ukraine, of course, that’s the primary purpose, but also because it stands as a potential to bring huge technological improvements and advances in drone technology to our home markets as well, for defence and for civilian purposes,” he said.

“Your foresighted investment in the drone coalition will not just help Ukraine; it will help Australia as well.”

Australian Defence Minister’s Response

Mr. Marles stated that the military agreement with the UK was unprecedented in many aspects and was a further step in the long-time relationship between the two countries.

“It means that the agreement that we have signed today is very practical, but it is also very timely, and it does reflect a relationship, which has become much more strategic, a relationship which has a much bigger national security dimension,” he said.

The minister elaborated that the agreement would cut unnecessary red tape, thereby strengthening the cooperation of the two defence forces.

“Whenever you have interactions in exercises, whenever our personnel are in the UK, whenever their personnel are here, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to authorise and regulate that,” he said.

“What this agreement does is provide, if you like, an architecture by which that happens on an ongoing basis. You don’t have to repeat it each and every time.”

Pointing to the greater presence of the UK in the Indo-Pacific, Mr. Marles believed the agreement would help promote the global rules-based order, freedom of navigation and international sea rules in the region.

At the same time, the minister said Australia was proud to participate in the initiative led by the UK to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

“Ukraine is the most acute example in the world today of the pressure that the global rules-based system is under,” he said.

“This is a really important opportunity for us to continue making our contribution to the effort to have Ukraine stay the course and be able to resolve this conflict on its terms.”

Meanwhile, Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie welcomed the military pact with the UK.

“The UK has long been one of our closest allies, and this will only deepen our partnership in an increasingly uncertain world,” he said.

Apart from the meeting between the two defence ministers, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also met with former UK Prime Minister and current Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Canberra on March 21 to discuss defence issues.

The British ministers had a joint meeting with their Australian counterparts on March 22 as part of the annual AUKMIN (Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultation) talks, in which they reiterated their support for AUKUS and other defence and security partnerships.