Coalition frontbencher Andrew Hastie has announced that whoever believes the rules-based order remains intact is in a “fantasyland,” as the US-Israel war on Iran intensifies, and as the government confirmed safe Australian troops in the region after a weekend drone attack.
The federal government reported that Australian troops who have been assigned to the defense force’s headquarters in the United Arab Emirates are all accounted for after a weekend drone strike, amid the growing conflict sparked by US and Israeli bombings in Iran.
The Defense Minister, Richard Marles, confirmed on Tuesday that all Australian troops stationed in the Al Minhad airbase had not been injured in the attack, and this came after Iran launched retaliatory strikes in response to the strikes by the US president, Donald Trump, and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Marles said on Tuesday, “All the Australians who are there are safe and accounted for.”
He added, “We’ve got more than 100 personnel across the Middle East. Most of them are in the UAE, where we’ve had an operational headquarters at Al Minhad for many, many years now.”
It arrived as the government justified the bombings, with international law specialists claiming that the US and Israel had conducted their actions without legal permission.
Marles informed ABC TV that Iran had been pursuing the acquisition of a nuclear weapon, which had breached international non-proliferation agreements, but said it was a “matter for the United States and Israel to justify the legal side of their actions.”
Marles stated, “But there’s absolutely no doubt that the world could not trust Iran in terms of what it was doing with its nuclear program. And it is utterly essential for global security that Iran be prevented from acquiring this capability.”
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie had dismissed those concerns about the international rules-based order, saying it was “nice to talk about” but irrelevant when Trump acted as an “apex opportunist” in the White House.
He added, “I don’t think that exists any more, and anyone who says it does is living in a fantasyland. This is a new world order.”
Hastie said, “I think the world is governed by power, and I prefer a powerful US re-establishing deterrence, rather than other countries like Russia, you know, using might to advance its national interest.”
Meanwhile, Hastie, an SAS veteran, cautioned war “is a very, very risky business” and said Iranians could be wondering if they are “trading one tyrant for another.”
He indicated, “It’s a blunt instrument for regime change, which I think is part of Donald Trump’s strategy.”
“I’m circumspect about regime change, having been involved in the wars of the last 15 to 20 years, and we’ll watch closely,” he said.
Since the withdrawal of operations in Afghanistan, Australia has had a lower force presence in the Al Minhad airbase. Defence said there were about 50 core ADF staff in the previous year and a total of 70 to 80 Australians at the base at any time.
The headquarters, which is referred to as HQME, has been assisting the missions and contingencies of the ADF since 2003. Contingency planning to assist the 115,000 Australians based in the region is already being made in Canberra, with plans to assist thousands of travelers who have been caught in airline disruption.
Penny Wong, the foreign affairs minister, has been negotiating with her counterpart in the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Tuesday.
He added that the UAE was striving to safely permit flights out of the country, and that Australians impacted by the effect of travel disruptions in the UAE were being settled and given meals.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reported that thousands of registrations by the UAE and other nations were being processed to verify the situation and welfare of Australian citizens, permanent residents, and their dependents.
