Australia news
US deployment of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to Australia’s north likely to fuel China tensions
Mon 31 Oct 2022 22.55 AEDT
Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspondent
An expanded Royal Australian Air Force base in the Northern Territory will have space for up to six American nuclear-capable B-52 aircraft as part of a US-funded project that is likely to fuel tensions with China. Officials in Canberra confirmed that the US-funded aircraft parking apron at RAAF Base Tindal, 320km south-east of Darwin, would be capable of accommodating up to six B-52 aircraft, but said it could also house other aircraft types.
They said the project was currently in the design phase, and played down the significance of the development, saying US bomber aircraft had been visiting Australia since the early 1980s and conducting training in Australia since 2005. But the detailed plans –
first reported by the ABC on Monday – suggest the new Labor government has locked in plans initiated under the former Coalition government to expand visits to Australia by US aircraft.
Four Corners reported the US Department of Defence had budgeted $US14.4m ($A22.5m) for squadron operations and maintenance facilities at Tindal. It cited US documents as saying: “The [squadron operations] facility is required to support strategic operations and to run multiple 15-day training exercises during the Northern Territory dry season for deployed B-52 squadrons.”
The minister for defence personnel, Matt Keogh, said Australia must remain “vigilant” amid regional tensions, but he did not think the B-52 rotation plans would inflame tensions with China.
“I don’t think so at all,” he told reporters in Hobart. “I think what’s really important here is that the more we are able to build interoperability with the Americans, growing on that very strong alliance.”
The B-52 is a long-range, heavy bomber that can carry out ocean surveillance and anti-ship operations and “can carry nuclear or precision guided conventional ordnance”,
according to a US government summary.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, told reporters at a regular briefing that China “urges the parties concerned to abandon the outdated Cold War and zero-sum mentality and narrow minded geopolitical thinking, and to do something conducive to regional peace and stability and enhancing mutual trust between the countries.” He said defence and security cooperation between countries should “not target any third parties or harm the interests of third parties.”
The US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, avoided commenting directly on the B-52 plans on Monday, but said the US was determined to support “peace and stability throughout this region” through diplomacy, dialogue and deterrence. In an interview with ABC News Breakfast, Kennedy said the Indo-Pacific was facing “increasing tensions” and the US would “work with our partners and allies to make this [region] safe”.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison
revealed in September last year that he expected the US to increase its military presence in the region while Australia awaits nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS* deal – the first of which were at that stage expected to be ready by the late 2030s.
Senior ministers Peter Dutton and Marise Payne held annual talks with their US counterparts in Washington DC a day after the AUKUS announcement, and also
flagged plans for more US military deployments to Australia.
