SYDNEY — The trilateral AUKUS alliance and the growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean are the focus of a multinational defense conference starting in Australia on Wednesday.

The United States, Britain and Australia are developing military capabilities under the 2021 AUKUS partnership, while tensions in the Indo-Pacific region are bringing focus to the Quad diplomatic partnership, between Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

The Indian Ocean Defense and Security 2024 conference in Perth, Western Australia, is bringing together senior Australian and international government, military and industry leaders.

The event is hosted by the Western Australian government.  It will examine how the the AUKUS pact between the United States, Britain and Australia affects the four-nation Quad diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan and the U.S.

The origins of the Quad alliance date back to Australia’s response to the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Analysts say the AUKUS and Quad groupings share concerns over China’s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.  Beijing has maritime disputes with several countries and a land boundary conflict with India.

Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, chief of the Australian navy, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Wednesday that, China is one of several areas of discussion at the Perth defense summit.

“This is an opportunity to bring defense, political senior leadership and industry leadership into one room to discuss the role of the state of Western Australia and the importance of the Indian Ocean to the security, prosperity (and) economic wellbeing of the great nation of Australia,” he said. “So, it is much broader than the issue of China, which tends to overshadow many things in our region.”

Western Australia covers a third of the Australian continent.  Its coastline is vast, stretching for more than 20,000 kilometers, including islands. The state has several key naval and air force bases.

The trilateral AUKUS accord is widely seen as a counter to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Beijing has been strident in its criticism of the pact, insisting that Australia and its allies had “gone down a dangerous road for their own selfish political gains.”  

Officials in Beijing have said previously that the Quad grouping was formed “to contain China.”

Australia’s left-leaning government is seeking to stabilize ties with China, the country’s major trading partner, after years of diplomatic friction over various geopolitical and trade disputes.
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