Germany and Australia will look to increase military cooperation, including hosting each other's personnel, as part of an effort for both countries to reduce reliance on the United States.
Germany and Australia will look to increase military cooperation, including hosting each other's personnel, as part of an effort for both countries to reduce reliance on the United States.
It comes as Federal Minister of Defence of Germany Boris Pistorius is in Canberra on his first official visit to Australia, and just days after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen inked the Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership and free trade agreement.
Speaking at the National Press Club on the first day of his visit to Australia, Minister Pistorius said global conflicts had become increasingly interconnected—evidenced through Russia's collaboration with Iran—and that conflict in the Indo Pacific would be no different.
"This is a world as it is, not the world we would wish for. There are many ways to take action, but business as usual is certainly not one of them," he said.
His National Press Club address came shortly after Defence Minister Richard Marles and Minister Pistorius revealed Germany and Australia will sign two agreements - a status of forces agreement and a pact on space defence cooperation.
A status of forces agreement is a legal treaty between two nations which allows a foreign military to station personnel in a host nation.
The agreements build on a 2013 strategic partnership between the two nations, which was extended in 2021.
"In a world with less reliability, with less honesty, with less predictability, it’s even more important that like-minded partners like Australia and Germany and others in the region like Japan and Singapore ... stay committed to the rules-based international order and provide more reliability between the middle powers of the world," Minister Pistorius said during a press conference in Canberra.
"Both our countries seek and need to strengthen their military capabilities, not only in the traditional domains but also particularly in space. We have therefore put security in space high up on our agenda, and I’m very pleased to have you on our side.
"Over the next couple of years, we will invest in Germany more than 35 billion euros in space systems.
"Sensors, of course, play a critical role in space. China and Russia are our direct neighbours — they have enhanced their offensive capabilities in space, they are able to jam, blind or deploy kinetic energy weapons or to destroy satellites.
"This means we need to be aware of what is going on up there. This is the only way to protect our own systems, and to that end, we intend to establish an independent global network of surveyors and sensors. You could call it an early warning system for space, and today, we signed a letter of intent to make this happen."
Minister Pistorius then turned his attention to the war in Iran, and said there was no evidence President Trump had any strategy to end the conflict.
"What really concerns me the most about that war is there was no consultation, there is no strategy, and there is no clear objective and the worst thing from my perspective is that there is no exit strategy," he said.
He then criticised President Trump's calls for NATO allies to get involved in the region.
"The United States demanded from Europe to take more responsibility for our conventional deterrence and defence, we demanded that we need to ramp up to achieve 3.5 per cent and some voices in Washington even said OK take care of your own backyard and Europe and don't mix up with us in the Indo-Pacific," he said.
"That was before the war started against Iran. Now, the arguments are different. Now they're saying 'where are you, you are cowards, you don't help us'."
"To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for the world’s economies. The impact is absolutely evident already now, after a little bit more than two weeks.
"The closure of the Hormuz Strait has an impact for all the region in the Indo-Pacific, including Australia, but foremost especially for Japan, depending by more than 90 per cent of imports via the Hormuz Strait - so this is a real impact."
The two partnerships are expected to be signed when Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy hosts Minister Pistorius in Brisbane on Friday.
