Headmark 147

ISSUE 147
March 2013
JOURNAL OF THE
SM2 and Sea Control:
A New Air Warfare
Capability for the Royal
Australian Navy
Chinas Aircraft
Carrier: Implications for
Southeast Asia
Pacic Partnership:
Australias Contribution
and Benets
Muscular Maritime
China ?
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Journal of the Australian Naval Institute
3 Issue 147
SM2 and Sea Control: A New Air
Warfare Capability for the Royal
Australian Navy 4
Chinas Aircraft Carrier: Implications for
Southeast Asia 7
Pacifc Partnership: Australias
Contribution and Benefts 9
Muscular Maritime China ? 16
Japans formidable new strike weapon
of WWII its aircraft carriers, and the
Darwin raid 19
Britannia Royal Naval
College Report 33
The Battle for the South China
Sea World War II, Today and into
the future 36
Obituary: CAPT David John Ramsay 42
A Middling Power, What is the ADF
meant to do, exactly? 45
United Kingdom: National Involvement
in the Indian Ocean Region 51
World Naval Developments 56
Book Reviews 60
Visions from the Vault 67
Style Notes for Headmark 69
ANI Membership Application Form 71
Front page :
AP-3C Orion
operating in the
Middle East Area of
Operations passes
HMAS Anzac during
the last operational
fight in the Middle
East before returning
home. As a farewell
gesture the Orion
dispensed fares as it
heads for home.
Contents
Issue Number 147
Printed by
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Company
ISSN 1833-6531
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VOSS NAVAL
Operation Slipper
- HMAS ANZAC
S
incethecommencementof
OpeiationSLIPPERin2001,
Austialiahasmaintainedamaiitime
contiibutiontoopeiationsintheMiddle
EastAieaofOpeiations(MEAO).
CuiientlythisconsistsofaMajoi
FleetUnit,theAnzacClassFiigate,
HMAS Anzac,whichisexiblycioss
taskedbetweenUS-ledCombined
MaiitimeFoices(CMF)CombinedTask
Foices(CTFs)150(counteiteiioiism),
151(countei-piiacy)and152(Gulf
maiitimesecuiity).
CMFpatiolsmoiethan2.5million
squaiemilesofinteinationalwateis
toconductbothintegiatedand
cooidinatedopeiationswithacommon
puipose,toincieasethesecuiityand
piospeiityoftheiegionbywoiking
togetheifoiabetteifutuie.
CMFiswoikingtodefeatteiioiism,
pieventpiiacy,ieduceillegaltiacking
ofpeopleanddiugs,andpiomotethe
maiitimeenviionmentasasafeplacefoi
maiineiswithlegitimatebusiness.
HMAS Anzacisconducting
maiitimesecuiityopeiationsacioss
theCombinedMaiitimeFoicesaiea
ofopeiations. HMAS Anzacsmission
allowsheitoundeitakemaiitime
inteidictionsandcountei-piiacy
opeiations,includingactivitiesundeithe
commandofCTF150. HMAS Anzac
enteiedtheMEAOinJuly2012.
4
I
nJune2011HMASSydney
conductedaseiiesofmissileiings
ontheUSNavysPacicMissileRange
FacilityothecoastofHawaii.Akey
aimwastopiovethattheupgiaded
Adelaideclassfiigates(FFG)could
exploitthefullcapabilitiesofthe
SM2StandaidMissileafteiamajoi
upgiadepiogiamthatsawitieplace
thepieviousSM1suifacetoaiimissile.
Apioven,contempoiaiysuifacetoaii
missilecapabilityisacoiecomponent
ofthesuifacefoicesabilitytogain
andexploitseacontiol.Withoutsea
contiol,amaiitimefoicewillbeunable
toadequatelypiotectsealinesof
communicationoiconductmaiitime
poweipiojectionopeiations.
TeSM2missileisthemainstayof
theUSNavysanti-aiiwaifaiesystem
andwillbethemajoiweaponinthe
RANsnewHobaitclassdestioyeis
(DDG).Itisasolidfuelled,tail
contiolled,supeisonicsuifacetoaii
missiledesignedtodefeatthefulliange
ofaiiciaftandmissileaiithieats.Itisa
veiycapableweapon,havingaiangeof
90nmandspeedof>Mach3.Howevei,
itisonlyonevaiiantintheStandaid
Missilefamily.Itspiedecessoi,the
SM1,wasisttestiedbytheUnited
Statesin1966andwasintioducedinto
theRANPeithclassDDGinthelate-
1970s.SM1wastheoiiginalweaponon
theAdelaideclassFFGandupgiaded
veisionsofthemissileaiestillinseivice
withanumbeiofnaviesaioundthe
woild.TeSM3vaiiantisgaining
piominenceastheweaponusedinthe
USballisticmissiledefencesystemand
SM6isthenextgeneiationsuifaceto
aiimissiledestinedtoieplacetheSM2.
TeFFGaietheistRANshipsto
bemodiedtoieSM2.Temissiles
aieiedfiomthesamelaunchei
SM2 no Svn Co:uoI: A Nvv AIu Wnuvnuv
CnvnsIII:v vou :uv RovnI Aus:unIIn Nnvv
BY COMMODORE PETER LEAVY
asweieSM1missiles,although
modicationsweieiequiiedtothe
launcheitocateifoithenewmissile
inteifaceandcapability.TeFFGclass
isinseivicewithsevennationsaiound
thewoild,buttheRANistheistnavy
toattempttointegiatetheSM2intothe
classandthemagnitudeofthiseoit
shouldnotbeundeiestimated.
HMASMelbourneconductedthe
RANsistSM2iinginlate2009
againstasuifacetaigettopiovethe
modicationsmadetothecombat
systemandlaunchei.HMASNewcastle
conductedthesecondiing,andist
againstanaiitaiget,duiingExeicise
RIMPACoHawaiiin2010.Tese
isttwoiingsweiedesignedtopiove
theshipsweiecapableofieplicating
thecapabilityoftheSM1missilethat
wasieplaced,butatthatstagethe
suppoitingsoftwaieandassociated
systemstoallowthefullcapability
ofSM2tobeusedweiestillundei
development.Teiingsconducted
bySydneyweieanintegialpaitofthat
developmentandtestedanumbei
ofthehighlevelfeatuiesavailablein
themissile.Toundeistandthelaige
incieaseincapabilitytheSM2willgive
theRANitisnecessaiytoundeistand
thedieiencesbetweentheSM1and
SM2missiles.
TeSM1hasanominaliangeof
25nm,iesatMach2andisahome
allthewaysemi-activemissile.
1
In
oideitoengageataigettheshipmust
istilluminateitwithacontinuous
iadaiwave(knownascontinuouswave
illumination,oiCWI).Temissileis
theniedanddetectstheieected
iadaieneigythatisietuiningfiomthe
taiget.TeSM1missilehomesonthis
ieectedsignaluntilitinteiceptsthe
taiget.
Tecontinuouswaveillumination
iequiiedtoguidetheSM1is
tiansmittedfiomadedicatedie
contioliadaiontheshipthatmust
continuetopointatthetaiget
thioughoutthemissilesight.Te
RANsFFGshavetwoiecontiol
iadaisfoithispuipose,sotheships
1 Asemiactivemissiledetectstheietuin
signaltiansmittedbytheiingplatfoim.An
activemissiletiansmitsitsowniadaisignal
anddetectstheietuins.
Able Seaman CSO
Maxine Wilmott
in the Operations
Room of HMAS Perth
monitoring the SM2
launch
5 Issue 147
weiecapableofengagingtwoaiitaigets
simultaneously.ShouldtheSM1missile
loseieceptionoftheCWIsignal,the
missileselfdestiuctsastheieisnoothei
methodofhomingontothetaiget.
TeSM2missilehasanumbeiof
signicantimpiovementsoveitheSM1
includingagieateiiange(90nm)and
speed(>Mach3).Whileitcanbeied
inthesamehomeallthewaymode
asSM1itcanalsobeiedwithout
needingtheCWIiadaiietuintoguide
ituntiltheteiminalphase.IntheFFG
thisisknownasmidcouiseguidance
mode,wheiethemissileinitiallyies
autonomouslytowaidsapiedicted
inteiceptpoint(PIP)calculatedbythe
shipscombatsystemimmediatelypiioi
tolaunch.Teshipcontinuestoupdate
thePIPbasedonchangestothetaigets
movementafteitheSM2isiedwith
anupdatedPIPbeingtiansmittedas
necessaiytothemissilewhichthen
adjustsitsightaccoidingly.Oncethe
missilegetscloseenoughtheshipsie
contioliadaicommencestiansmitting
theCWIsignalfoithemissiletohome
onthetaigetduiingtheteiminalphase
ofight.ConsequentlytheSM2does
notwasteeneigybyunnecessaiily
manoeuviingeailyinitsightwhich
incieasesbothitsoveialliangeand
itsabilitytomanoeuvieheavilyinthe
teiminalphaseoftheengagement.
Temidcouiseguidancemodehas
otheiadvantages.CWItiansmissions
aieeasilydetectedbyataigetsoonce
illuminationcommences,thetaiget
gainsvaluablewainingtimeofan
imminentthieat.AstheSM2missile
doesnotneedtohavethetaiget
continuallyilluminatedwithCWI
foiitsentiieight,theieaieieduced
wainingqueuesfoithetaiget.Inthe
cuiientFFGconguiation,theiedoes
needtobeiecontioliadaisuppoit
totiackthetaigetandpiovidethe
taigets3-Dimensionalpositionfoithe
PIPcalculations.Notsowiththenew
HobaitclassDDGasitsAEGIScombat
systemwillbeabletotiackalltaigets
in3-Dimensionsatalltimes.Usingthe
SPY1D(V)iadai(thepiimaiyiadai
ttedtotheships)asatiackingsouice,
dataiscontinuouslysenttotheSM2
inightbytheSPYiadaiasguidance
commands,againwithoutthetaiget
detectingthatithasbeenengaged.
AEGIScanmanagemultipleweapons
atmultipletaigetsatanyonetime,with
theCWIilluminatoistimeshaiing
illuminationofthetaigetsduiingthe
teiminalphaseoftheengagement.
TetiialsSydneyconductedin
Hawaiicoveiedanumbeiofkeyaspects
oftheSM2missilesystem.Tespecic
detailsbeingexploiedandtheiesults
aieclassied,butweieveiypiomising.
Oneiingwasconductedinthe
homeallthewaymodetopiovethat
capability,whileotheiiingsexploied
vaiiouspeifoimancelimits,system
iedundanciesandopeiatingmodes,
includingiingattheedgeofthe
designedopeiatinglimits.Anumbei
ofiingsweieconductedwheiethe
taigetwasdelibeiatelymanoeuvied
afteithemissilewasiedtoensuiethe
shipscombatsystemcouldaccuiately
monitoithePIPandsendupdatesto
themissile.Teieaiealsoanumbei
ofkeyiedundanciesbuiltintothe
HMAS Sydney
launching a SM2
missile on the Pacifc
Missile Range Facility
of Hawaii
6
SM2systemandsimulatedfaultsweie
injectedinsomeiingstotestthese
iedundantmodes.
Teiesultsoftheseiingsaie
nowbeingusedtoienethevaiious
softwaiesystemsintheFFGwiththe
nalpioducttobedeliveiedtoallfoui
shipsshoitly.Oncethishappens,the
RANwillhaveatestedandpiovenanti-
aiiwaifaiecapabilityoutto90nmfiom
theiingship,whichwillfundamentally
changethewaytheADFconductsaii
waifaie.Teiangeatwhichhostile
aiiciaftwillfeelthieatenedbyships
haseectivelyincieasedfiom25to
90nm,signicantlycomplicatingtheii
abilitytodetectandidentifysuiface
contactswhilesimultaneouslyieducing
theiiownweaponpeifoimance.Tis
isatiemendousadvanceintheRANs
cuiientanti-aiiwaifaiecapabilities,an
advantagethatwillbefuitheiboosted
oncetheHobaitclassDDGentei
seivicelateithisdecade.
TeRANsSM2capabilitywillalso
gieatlyincieasetheopeiatingaieathat
fiiendlyaiiciaftcanopeiateinwhich
piovidesatiemendousincieasein
theADFsaiiwaifaiecapability.Foi
example,AiiboineEailyWainingand
Contiol(AEW&C)aiiciaftcanopeiate
atsomedistancefiomtheships,
whilstiemainingundeithepiotective
umbiellapiovidedbySM2.Indeed,the
AEW&Caiiciaftwillpiovidemuchof
thecueingandtaigetinginfoimation
foitheshipsweaponstouse,an
excellentexampleofthewholebeing
gieateithanthesumofthepaits.
Tecombinationofshipsand
aiiciaftwoikingtogetheitodetectand
identifyaiithieatsandthenshipsand
combataiiciaftbeingabletoengage
thosethieatswillbeapoweifulfoice
multiplieifoitheADF.Knowing
wheieathieatissituatedisonething
SM2biingsthecapabilitytodeal
withthosethieatsifnecessaiy.Te
tiialsconductedbySydneyinJune
2011validatedtheveiygoodwoik
undeitakenbytheRAN,theDefence
MateiielOiganisationandanumbei
ofDefencecontiactoistobiingthefull
capabilitiesoftheSM2missiletothe
RAN.
TeRANisnowwellplacedto
piovidesignicantaiidefencecapability
whenandwheieitisneededand,in
doingso,gainseacontiolinoideito
executemilitaiymissions.
Commodore Peter Leavy RAN is currently
Principal Warfare Ofcer (PWO) at Fleet
Headquarters. He is aPrinciple Warfare
Ofcer with service in DE, DDG, ANZAC
andFFG classships. His last command
was HMAS Sydneyduring which he
undertook a range of SM2 missile frings
in Hawaii which, in part, provided the
inspiration for this article.
SM2 no Svn Co:uoI:
A Nvv AIu Wnuvnuv CnvnsIII:v vou :uv RovnI Aus:unIIn Nnvv
For more information, please contact: sales@thalesgroup.com.au
www.thalesgroup.com.au
SMARTER AND SAFER
UNDERWATER SOLUTIONS
...Since the beginning
Photograph Australian Department of Defence
7 Issue 147
Synopsis
TeinductionofChinasistaiiciaft
caiiieibythePeoplesLibeiation
AimyNavy(PLAN)isnocausefoi
oveiieactionbySoutheastAsian
goveinments,fiomthestiategicand
opeiationalpeispectives.Still,Chinas
aiiciaftcaiiieipiogiammemay
piovidegieateigioundsfoiconcein
by2020.
TeinductionintoseiviceofChinas
istaiiciaftcaiiiei,theLiaoning,
amidstongoingtensionsintheEast
andSouthChinaSeas,couldnothave
beenmoiecoincidental.Inevitablythis
couldpiovokeiegionalconceinsin
iegaidtowhetheiChinawoulduseits
newfoundcapabilityagainstcompeting
claimantsinthosedisputes.
Tismightbeespeciallysofoi
compaiativelyweakeicountiiesin
SoutheastAsiawhichhaveviewed
Chinasgiowingnavalmightovei
thepastdecadewithatleastsome
concein.Howevei,shouldSoutheast
Asiabeoveilyconceinedaboutthis
development?
Carrier in confned littorals
Teacceptedconsensusamongstnaval
analystsisthatbuildingafull-edged
caiiieicapabilitytakestime.Moie
thanjusthavingtheaiiciaftcaiiiei,it
involvespiovidingsuppoitingelements
suchasescoitingwaishipsand
ieplenishmentvessels,nottomentiona
fully-developedcaiiiei-boineaviation
complement,allofwhichconstitutea
typicalcaiiieibattlegioup(CBG).
ACBGisstillnotconsideieda
fully-opeiationalghtingfoiceuntil
thenecessaiydoctiineandopeiational
andtechnicalknowhowofcaiiiei
opeiationsaieacquiied,diused
andmusteiedthioughouttheentiie
CBG.Tetimetakenfoiawhole
CBGtotiaintoopeiatetogetheias
onecohesiveghtingfoicecanbe
consideiablylengthy.
Moieovei,theSoutheastAsian
maiitimeconnes,chaiacteiisedby
naiiowandsemi-enclosedwateis,
donotfavouitheopeiationoflaige-
sizedcaiiieis.AtypicalCBGpiesents
alaigeandhighlyvisibletaigetwith
itsaccompanyingeettiain,which
incieasesitsvulneiabilitytodetection.
Inconnedlittoials,laigewaiships
couldbepaiticulailyvulneiable
towell-concealedasymmetiic
counteimeasuies,exploitinglocal
geogiaphy,suchassubmaiinesand
long-iangemissiles.Teencounteis
betweenUSNavycaiiieisandPLAN
submaiinesin1994and2006aswell
asthesuccessfulattackontheIsiaeli
NavycoivetteINS Hanitin2006by
aHezbollahshoie-basedanti-ship
missilehighlightsuchvulneiability.
No surprise for regional
governments
TeChinesecaiiieipiogiammeshould
nothavecomeaciossasasuipiise
iegionally.Chinasaiiciaftcaiiiei
dieamdatedfiomtheKuomintang
peiiodinthe1940sandthiswas
ievivedbythecommunistgoveinment
inthe1980s.High-piolepuichases
ofdecommissionedAustialianand
Sovietmedium-sizedcaiiieisinthe
mid-1980sandeaily-1990sexemplied
Beijingsintent.Tismeantthatovei
thesedecades,iegionalgoveinments
haveatleastbeenpaitiallydesensitized
totheChinesecaiiieipiospect.
Sincethe1990s,evenifitdoesnot
constitutethepiimaiymotivation
behindSoutheastAsiasnaval
modeinisation,Chinasaiiciaft
caiiieiintentcouldhavespuiied
iegionalacquisitionofsuchcheapei
anticipatoiycounteimeasuiesas
long-iangemissiles,aeiialmaiitime
suiveillanceandsubmaiines.Tese
couldhavehelpedinmitigatingthe
potentialmateiialisationofChinas
aiiciaftcaiiieipiogiamme.Insum,
SoutheastAsiaisgeneiallypiepaiedfoi
suchacontingency.
Teiefoie,Chinasistaiiciaft
caiiieishouldnotwaiiantany
oveiieactiononthepaitofSoutheast
Asiangoveinments.Howevei,Chinas
Chinas Aircraft Carrier:
Implications for Southeast Asia
BY KOH SWEE LEAN COLLIN
Chinas frst Aircraft
Carrier
8
caiiieipiogiammemaypotentially
piesentaiealsouiceofconceinby
2020whenthetwoplannedindigenous
caiiieis,accoidingtoPLANsouices,
aieexpectedtoenteiseivicein2020
and2022iespectively.Teindigenous
caiiieiisiepoitedtobebasedonbut
laigeithantheVaiyagdesign,implying
avastlymoiecapablevesseldisplacing
moiethan70,000tonnesfull-load.
Oneneedsalsotopayattention
toBeijingsoveiallattemptstobuild
upitsCBGcapacity.Tisiswell
exempliedbytheiecentinduction
andconstiuctionofnewdestioyeis
optimisedfoieetaiidefencecoveiage,
conceivablywithCBGaiidefence
inmind.TismeansthatChinais
seiiouslybentonpuisuingalong-teim
caiiieicapabilitywhichismoiethan
justapiestigepetpioject.
Benign aspect of
aircraft carrier
Giventhatafull-edgedCBG
capabilityfoiChinawilliequiiemoie
timetomateiialise,itispiematuieto
stiikethealaimbells,theactualuseof
acaiiieiisaiguablymoieciucialthan
themeiepossessionofit.Anditcould
haveabenignimpactaswell.
Piioitothe2004IndianOcean
tsunamifoiinstance,Singapoies
foiceofnewEnduiance-class
amphibiouslandingshipspiojecteda
somewhataggiessiveimagebuttheii
humanitaiiandeploymentoAceh
intheafteimathofthedisasteiaptly
demonstiatedthattheseotheiwise
oensive-lookingplatfoimsdohave
theiibenignaspect.
TeAmeiicansfoiinstance
deployedtheiicaiiieistogoodeect
afteithe2004tsunamiandthe2011
EastJapanSeatsunami.TeTaiNavy
usedheipocketcaiiieiRTNS Chakri
Naruebetfoithesoutheinoods
disasteiielief.TeChinesecouldtake
noteoftheseinstancesandstiiveto
utiliseitsfutuiecaiiieicapabilities
foisuchbenign
puiposes.Infact,
Beijingshould
beawaieofthe
peacefulutility
ofsuchlaige
navalplatfoims,
asitshospital
shipAnweihad
demonstiatedin
itsinteinational
goodwillvoyages.
Less glamorous power
projection
IfSoutheastAsiansaiewoiiiedthat
thenewcaiiieicouldbeusedtoasseit
Beijingsmaiitimeclaimsintheiegion,
basedoniecentpatteinsofChinese
gunboatdiplomacy,thiswoiiycould
beexaggeiated.Chinahasbeenielying
incieasinglyonlightly-equipped
civilianlaw-enfoicementvessels
foisuchfunctionsinsteadofPLAN
waishipsandthistiendispiojected
tocontinueasChinaiapidlybuildsup
suchcapacities.
Intimeswhenitsemeigenceasa
gieatpoweihascomeundeiintense
inteinationalsciutiny,thelastthing
Beijingwouldwantistobeseenas
oveilyaggiessivebyexploitingits
newfoundnavalmight.Tedelibeiate
low-pioleinductionofthisist
aiiciaftcaiiieiisonesuchgestuieof
Chinasieluctancetobepoitiayed
asusingdispiopoitionatefoiceinits
exeiciseofgunboatdiplomacy.
Also,iatheithananaiiciaftcaiiiei
intheSouthChinaSea,gieateiecacy
andciedibilitycanbeachievedthiough
lessglamoiouspoweipiojection
capabilitiessuchasBeijingsiapidly
expandingamphibiousassaultfoices,
oifouith-geneiationland-based
aiipoweisuppoitedbymid-aii
iefuelingaiiciaft.Tatwouldpiovide
moieimmediateiamicationstothe
iegionalnavalbalance.Intheshoitei
teim,theseaspectsinsteadofthe
caiiieipiogiammedeseivegieatei
attentionofChinasSoutheastAsian
neighbouis.
Koh Swee Lean Collin is an associate
research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam
School of International Studies (RSIS),
Nanyang Technological University. He
is pursuing doctoral studies focusing on
naval modernisation in the Asia-Pacifc,
especially Southeast Asia.
First published as RSIS Commentary
No. 183/2012.
Top: Chinese aircraft
carrier Liaoning
cruises back to a port
after its frst navy
sea trial in Dalian, in
northeastern Chinas
Liaoning province in
late 2012
Chinese military on
parade on board
their new aircraft
carrier
Chinas Aircraft Carrier:
Implications for Southeast Asia
9 Issue 147
T
hepublicoftenthinksofnavies
inpuielymilitaiisticteims,
theyexisttodefendtheiistateatsea
thioughfoice.Howevei,naviesalso
piovideanimpoitant,butfailess
publicisedfoimofdefencethiough
militaiydiplomacy.Byvisitingothei
statesongoodwillonhumanitaiian
assistanceidisasteiielief(HADR)
missions,naviescanactasinfoimal
diplomatsandgeneiatesoftpoweifoi
theiiiespectivestate.Tebenetsof
softpoweiaiesignicant.Softpowei
geneiatestiustbetweenstates,which
intuinincieasessecuiity.Fuithei,
thesemissionsgiveotheibenetssuch
asinteiopeiabilityandextiaexpeiience
foithepaiticipants.Onesuchmission
theAustialianDefenceFoice(ADF)
paiticipatesinisOpeiationPacic
Paitneiship.
PacicPaitneishipisanannual
diplomaticmilitaiyopeiationdesigned
PncIvIc Pnu:vusuIv:
Aus:unIIns Co:uIsu:Io no BvvvI:s
BY RHETT MITCHELL
topiovidefieemedicaltieatment,
veteiinaiycaieandengineeiing
suppoitfoidevelopingstatesinthe
Asia-Paciciegion.LedbytheUnited
States(US)NavyPacicFleetinSan
Diego,theoveiaichingaimofPacic
Paitneishipistomaintainasecuie
andstableiegionwhilebuilding
ielationsbetweenpaiticipatingand
hoststates.AccoidingtoTongan
MinisteiofEducation,Womens
AaiisandCultuie,theHonDiAna
MauiTaufeulungaki,piogiamssuch
asPacicPaitneishipdemonstiate
tothePacicandthewoild,thatthe
defenceseivicesofthepaiticipating
countiiesaietheietopiotectthepeace
andsecuiityoftheiegion,andtohelp
impioveandmaintainthewelfaieof
thepeople.
1
PacicPaitneishipevolvedfiom
theHADRiesponsefollowingthe2004
BoxingDayIndianOceanTsunami.
Sinceitsinceptionuntiltheendof
PacicPaitneiship2011(PP11),the
opeiationhasvisited15states,tieated
appioximately348,000patients,and
completed130engineeiingpiojects.
2
Foiexample,PP10tieated109,754
patients,peifoimed859suigeiies,
distiibutedovei60,000paiisof
glassesandsunglasses,piovided1505
dentaltieatmentsandiepaiied124
piecesofmedicalequipmentvalued
atappioximatelyUS$5.8million.
3
Its
successhasalsoinspiiedotheistates.
China,foiexample,implemented
asimilaiopeiation,Haimonious
Mission,intheIndianOceaniegion
commencingin2010.
4
PacicPaitneishipimpiovesboth
thepeiceptionandieputationof
paiticipatingstates.FollowingPP06,
asuiveyundeitakenbyieseaich
oiganisationTeiioiFieeTomoiiow
inIndonesiaandBangladeshshowed
USNS Mercy
(US Navy)
10
85ofIndonesiansand95of
Bangladeshissuppoitedthemission.
5
Fuithei,87ofBangladeshissaidthe
missionimpiovedtheiipeiceptions
oftheUS,withgeneialpositiveUS
peiceptionsdoubling.Suppoitfoi
teiioiismandOsamabinLadenin
Indonesiadioppedto12fioma
highof58in2003.
6
WhilePacic
Paitneishipcannotclaimsole
iesponsibilityfoidiminishingteiioiist
suppoit,continuedhumanitaiian
assistanceinIndonesiafollowingthe
BoxingDayTsunamiwitnessedadiop
insuppoitby25.
PacicPaitneishippiojectsaie
undeitakenattheiequestofthehost
state,enablingthepaiticipatingstates
topiovidetheiightiesouicesfoithe
piojectsiequested.FoiPP11,Tonga
iequested,amongstotheithings,help
iefuibishinglocalschools,including
installingsolaipowei,wateitanksand
playequipment.Tesepiojectsweie
undeitakenwiththehelpofthelocal
community.TonganPiimeMinistei,
LoidTuivakano,expiessedhis
giatitude,saying:
Iampleasedtonotethisyeais
intei-goveinmentalappioach
wheietheimpactandbenet
hasbeenwidenedbywoiking
closelyandintandemwiththe
NewZealandandAustialian
goveinments.Iamsuiethiswill
foimthefoundationsandpeihaps
amodelfoifutuiehumanitaiian
missionsthatdiawtogetheiand
unitedieientpaitiestoachievea
setofcleailydenedgoals.
7
OneoftheotheibenetsofPacic
Paitneishipisthatitwoikswithlocal
communities,educatingandtiaining
theminpiofessionalexchangesand
communityconfeiences.Community
confeiencescoveitopicssuchas
natuialdisasteiiesponse,andgivean
oppoitunityfoithecommunitytosay
whattheywantfiomfutuiemissions.
Fuithei,paiticipantswoikalongside
localciviliansandmilitaiy,
helpingbuildiappoit
withthehoststates,as
wellasshowingnew
techniquesfoitaskssuch
ascivilianiinfiastiuctuie
constiuction,medical
tieatmentandmilitaiy
logistics.
Cultuialexchanges
andcommunityielations
betweenhostand
paiticipatingstates
aiejustasimpoitant
asthemedicaland
constiuctionwoik.
Cultuialexchangesenable
thepaiticipatingandhost
statestoexpeiienceand
undeistandmoieabout
eachotheiscultuie.
Tisimpiovescultuial
awaienessandallows
allsidestoinuencethe
peiceptionsofeachothei.
FoiPP09,anewway
ofconductingcultuialexchanges
emeiged.Insteadofsmall-scale
inteiactionthioughwoik,dedicated
eventsweieoiganisedtointeiactwith
locals,paiticulailyschoolchildien.
TePacicFleetBandandUSNavy
helicopteispiovedpopulai,asthey
allowedthechildientosing,dance
andtouithehelicoptei.Peisonnel
distiibutedtoysdonatedbynon-
goveinmentoiganisations(NGOs),
whichthechildienalsoenjoyed.Tis
allowsthepaiticipantstointeiactwith
alaigeipaitofthecommunitythan
befoie.
US INVOLVEMENT
ToughoiganisedandledbytheUS
Navy,PacicPaitneishipissuppoited
bystateswithaninteiestintheAsia-
PaciciegionaswellasNGOssuch
asRotaiyInteinationalandPioject
HOPE(aninteinationalhealthcaie
oiganisation).Foiexample,eight
NGOsandmilitaiyiepiesentations
fiomvestates(includingtheUS),
suppoitedPP11.
TecommandshipfoiPacic
Paitneishipalteinateseachyeai
betweenUSNSMercy(awhitehulled
hospitalship)andagiey-hulledship,
usuallyatianspoitisupplyship(foi
PP11,theamphibioustianspoitdock
USSClevelandwasthecommand
ship).Whilegiey-hulledshipsaienot
hospitalships,theyhavethecapacity
tocaiiylaigeamountsofmedical
equipmentandhaveadedicated
medicalcliniconboaid.Byalteinating
betweenMercyandagiey-hulledship,
thefocusofthemissionalteinates
betweenmedicaltieatmentand
engineeiingpiojectsfiomyeaitoyeai.
Te1000-bedMercyhasahistoiy
intheiegion,fuitheienhancingthe
goodwillthemissionieceives.Mercy
istdeployedonahumanitaiian
missionintheiegionin1987,and
PncIvIc Pnu:vusuIv:
The Australian
contingent for PP12
in front of USNS
Mercy (RAN photo)
11 Issue 147
wasinvolvedintheHADRiesponse
followingtheBoxingDaytsunami.
AccoidingtotheUSNavy,the
piimaiypuiposeofPacicPaitneiship
isto:
stiengthenielationshipswith
hostipaitneistatesandNGOs,
buildpaitneicapacityto
conductpeace,stabilityand
consequencemanagement
opeiations,
impiovehostipaitneistate
HADRcapacity,and
impiovesecuiitycoopeiation
amongpaitneistates.
8
OtheibenetsfoitheUSNavyinclude,
knowingwhattheemeigencyiesponse
stiuctuieandfacilitiesintheaected
statesandwhatHADRpiioiitiesin
thosestateswillbeiftheieisanatuial
disasteiintheiegion,HADRtiaining,
iegionalawaieness,andielationship
buildingwithpaiticipatingandhost
states.TeUSNavyalsoiecognises
thebenetsofwoikingwithpaitnei
goveinments,militaiiesandNGOs,
andseekstocontinuetostiengthen
theseielationships.
REASONS FOR
ONGOING PACIFIC
PARTNERSHIP
MISSIONS
Soft power and diplomacy
Softpoweidiplomacyis
impoitantfoimodeinstates.
Softpoweiistheabilityof
onestatetoinuencethe
actionsofanotheithiough
peisuasionoiattiaction,
iatheithanthioughhaid
poweimeasuiessuchas
thieats,sanctionsoiviolence.
Asleadingsoftpoweischolai
JosephNyesuimises,IfIcan
getyoutodowhatIwant,
thenIdonothavetofoice
youtodowhatyoudonot
want.
9
Piovidingmedical
caie,buildinginfiastiuctuieand
woikingwithlocalscanbejustas,if
notmoie,eectiveincieatingsecuiity
thanmilitaiilydefeatinganenemy.
Softpoweiiscieatedbythe
attiactivenessofastatescultuie,
politicalidealsandpolicies,itspieads
thioughastatesactionsanddecisions,
validatesandieinfoicesthestates
commonvalues,beliefsandlifestyles.
10
FiomanAustialianpeispective,with
limitedhaidpoweioptions,softpowei
isvitalfoisecuiingAustialianiegional
inteiests,suchastiade,iesouices,and
sealinesofcommunication.Austialia
piojectssoftpoweiinnumeiousways,
suchasstudentandcultuialexchanges,
lmandtelevisionbioadcasts,and
goveinmentandNGOssuchas
AusAIDoiWoildVision.Oneofthe
waystheAustialianDefenceFoice
(ADF)piojectssoftpoweiisthiough
PacicPaitneiship.
AUSTRALIAN INTERESTS
PacicPaitneishiphelpspiomote
Austialiannationalandstiategic
inteiestsbybuildingandmaintaining
positiveielationshipwithiegional
states.Neitheinationalinteiests(foi
examplenationalsecuiity)noistiategic
inteiests,suchasiegionalsecuiity,
canbepiomotedsuccessfullywithout
positiveielationswithneighbouiing
states.Bybuildingandmaintaining
positiveielationsthioughopeiations
suchasPacicPaitneiship,Austialia
ismoielikelytobeabletopositively
inuencetheiegion.
Positivewoikingielationships
incieaseAustialiasnationalsecuiity,
asfiiendlystatesaielesslikelyto
attackeachothei.Positivewoiking
ielationshipsbuildtiust.Tiustbetween
states,paiticulailymilitaiies,isintegial
asitallaysfeaisthatAustialiaisa
negativeiegionalinuenceandsends
themessagethatAustialiasmilitaiy
intentisbenign.HADRmissionsaie
eectivewaystobuildtiustbetween
states.
Tiustisalsoimpoitantincieating
avenuesfoifutuiecoopeiationand
tiadebetweenstates.FiomanADF
peispective,woikingwithiegional
militaiiesallowsthemtoundeistand
howotheimilitaiiesopeiate,what
theiicapabilitiesaie,andwhatiole
US Navy aircrewmen
comfort an injured
Nicaraguan woman
prior to take-of
during a medical
evacuation (US Navy)
12
theyplayintheiistatespoliticali
societalstiuctuie.Undeistanding
theseelementsallowstheADFand
AustialianGoveinmenttowoikmoie
eectivelywithiegionalgoveinments,
mutuallyincieasingiegionalsecuiity.
Whenpeopleaiehealthyandhave
basicinfiastiuctuie,theyaieless
likelytoiebelagainstthegoveinment,
potentiallycieatingfailedstates,
destabilisingtheiegion.Incieased
iegionalstabilitymeanstheieisless
likelihoodthatAustialiawillhaveto
deploytheADFwithintheiegionasa
stabilisingfoice.
Secuiityismoiethanjust
defendingagainstanaimedattack.
Non-tiaditionalsecuiitythieats,
suchasnatuialdisasteis,teiioiism
andpublichealthepidemicsaienow
coiesecuiityconsideiations.Pacic
Paitneishipisnotdesignedtopievent
anaimedattack,butitisdesignedto
impiovepublichealth,infiastiuctuie
anddisasteiiesponsecapabilities.
Impiovingthesecapabilitiesincieases
thestabilityofiegionalstates,and
theiefoietheiegionasawhole,with
astableiegionbeingakeyAustialian
stiategicinteiest.
ADFpaiticipationinPacic
Paitneishipsuppoitsthe2009White
Papeiobjectives.TeWhitePapei
outlinesthatasapiospeiousstate,
Austialiashouldhelpotheistates,
paiticulailyintheAsia-Paciciegion,
andthattheADFpiovidesspecialised
capabilitiesonascalethatnoothei
AustialianGoveinmentagencycan
supply.
11
AstheWhitePapeifuithei
mentions,Austialiahasastiong
inteiestinensuiingthestabilityand
piospeiityofstatesintheiegion.
Withotheistatesvyingfoiiegional
inuenceandexeitingtheiiownsoft
powei,itisinAustialiasinteiests
tomaintainapositiveiegional
ielationship.TisisoneofAustialias
keystiategicinteiestsasoutlinedin
theWhitePapei.Apositiveiegional
ielationshipmeanstheieisless
likelihoodanotheistatecaninuence
theiegionnegatively,againstAustialias
nationalinteiests.
Austialianiegionalpolicy
ieectstheiegionsgeostiategicand
economicaliealities.Whilepaits
ofAsiaaiebecomingincieasingly
wealthy,manyPacicstatesiemain
pooi.Inthe2010i11nancialyeai,
Austialiacontiibutedabout$1.1billion
inaidtoPacicstates,iepiesenting
25ofAustialiastotalaidbudget,
andhalfofthetotalaidgiventothose
statesglobally.
12
Piovidingaid,both
nanciallyandmateiially,Austialia
piomotesitselfasagoodneighboui
whocaiesabouttheinteiestsofits
neighbouiingstates.
Austialiasmotivationfoi
paiticipatinginPacicPaitneishipis
multi-faceted.Fiistly,ithasapuiely
altiuisticelement,theAustialian
Goveinmentwantstohelptheiegion
achievehigheistandaidsofliving.
Secondly,itpiovidesanimpoitant
HADRandinteiopeiabilitytiaining
oppoitunityfoiADFpeisonnel.
Tiidly,itdevelopsiegionalsecuiity.
Fouith,itbuildsielationshipsbetween
Austialiaandthepaiticipatingand
hoststates,andnally,ithelpspiomote
Austialiasnationalinteiestsabioad.
HADRopeiationssuchasPacic
PncIvIc Pnu:vusuIv:
Army vehicles sit
in the tank deck
onboard HMAS
Tobruk
(Navy image)
13 Issue 147
PaitneishipfoimpaitofAustialias
laigeidiplomaticeoits.WhileHADR
missionsaienottiaditionaldiplomacy
(thatis,diplomattodiplomat),they
foimpaitofAustialiaslaigeipublic
diplomacymission.Publicdiplomacy
iswheiebyonestatediiectlyinuences
thecitizensofotheistatestoshape
theiiopinions,peiceptionsand
attitudesinawaythatwillseivethe
homestatesfoieignpolicyinteiests.
Cultuie,education,tiadeandcitizen-
to-citizeninteiactionaieallpaitof
cieatingeectivepublicdiplomacy.
Eectivepublicdiplomacy
contiibutestonationalsecuiity.
AccoidingtotheDepaitmentof
FoieignAaiisandTiadesPublic
Diplomacy Handbook,public
diplomacycontiibutesto[Austialias]
nationalsecuiitybyhelpingtobuild
undeistandingaboutAustialiaand
itsplaceinthewoildasastable,
sophisticated,toleiantandcultuially
diveisenation.Tesetiaitsaieall
aspectsofsoftpoweipiojection,
makingpublicdiplomacyapiactical
applicationofsoftpowei.
Howevei,PacicPaitneishipis
notapuiepublicdiplomacyexeicise
asitincoipoiatesaspectsofmilitaiy
diplomacy(militaiy-to-militaiyicivilian
inteiaction)andmedicaldiplomacy
(medicalaid).Teculminationof
thesethieetypesofdiplomacyenables
PacicPaitneishiptoinuenceabioad
spectiumofsociety.Tispiovidesgieat
benetstoAustialiaandtheADF.
ADF CONTRIBUTION AND
BENEFITS
TeimpoitanceofPacicPaitneiship
totheADFcontinuestogiow.Upuntil
PP08,theADFcontingentwasasmall
numbeiofmedicaloceisandcombat
engineeis.SincePP09,twolanding
ciaftheavy(LCH)amphibiousships
havebeensenttotianspoitequipment
suchasmedicalandbuildingsupplies.
TeAustialiancontingentisnow
laigei,withovei300paiticipantsfoi
PP10.Tisdemonstiatesthelevelof
impoitancetheADFnowplacesonthe
mission.
TeLCHsplayavitalioleinthe
mission.Duetotheiishallowdiaft
andlaigecaigocapacity,theLCHsaie
thepeifectvesselstomovepeisonnel
andsuppliesbetweentheshipsand
shoie.Teycanalsoaccessaieasthat
laigeishipscannot,extendingPacic
Paitneishipsieachbeyondtowns
withlaigepoits.DuiingPP10,HMA
ShipsLabuanandTarakanbecame
oatingstagingbasesfoimedicaland
dentalteams.Embaikinganextia
21peisonneleach(whosleptonthe
openvehicledeckundeimosquito
netting),theLCHslandedtheteams
inthemoiningandpickedthem
upatnightfiomiemotetownsand
islandsinaccessibletolaigeivessels.
Tisallowedanestimated
13,000extiapatientstobe
tieated.
13
FoiPP10,theLanding
ShipHeavyHMASTobruk
paiticipated,gieatly
enhancingtheamountof
suppliestheRANcould
tianspoit.Tobrukalso
ieceivedthehonouiof
beingtheistnon-US
commandshipfoiPacic
PaitneishipwhenCaptain
LisaFianchetti,USN,based
heiselfaboaidTobruk
foithenallegbetween
DaiwinandRabaul,Papua
NewGuinea.
TeADFhas
paiticipatedinPacic
Paitneishipsince2006,
piovidingRANvessels,
ADFmedicalpeisonneland
combatengineeis.Pacic
Paitneishippiovidesthe
ADFwithbenetssuchas,
inteiopeiability
withtheUSNavy
andotheipaiticipatingihost
states(suchasNewZealand,
Japan,PapuaNewGuinea,East
Timoi),
expeiiencefoiADFmedicali
dentaliveteiinaiyand
engineeiingpeisonnelbothin
theiegionandingeneial,
expeiienceinHADRmissions,
and
stiengtheningielationswith
neighbouiingstatesthiough
publicdiplomacy.
TecommandeioftheAustialian
contingentfoiPP11,Commandei
AshleyPapp,RAN,saidthatthePacic
PaitneishipsbenetstotheADFaie
impiovedinteiopeiabilitywithhosti
paiticipatingstatesandimpiovingthe
livesofpeopleintheiegion.Fuithei,
CommandeiPappadded,Woiking
closelywithfiiendsandalliesinthis
Nursing ofcer
Lieutenant Sarah
Jarvis with local
children on the
Indonesian island
of Siau during PP12
(RAN photo)
14
wayintimesofpeacehelpsustoiene
ouipioceduies,undeistandingand
coopeiation,sothatintimesofciises
wehavealieadytiainedonhowto
deliveitheiightsuppoit,attheiight
time,intheiightwaywhenneeded.
14
PacicPaitneiship2012ian
fiomMaytoAugustwithMercyas
commandship,visitingIndonesia,the
Philippines,VietnamandCambodia.
TwentyfouiNGOsand16militaiies
(includinghoststates)paiticipatedin
PP12,includingisttimestatesChile,
PeiuandtheNetheilands.Bythe
endofthethiidleg(Vietnam),theie
hadbeenabout24,600patientsseen,
including680suigeiies,7000paiisof
piesciiptionglassesdistiibuted,4600
animals(mostlylivestock)tieated,
174piecesofmedicalequipment
iepaiied,50communityseivice
events,43bandpeifoimances,30
subjectmatteiexpeitsexchanges,
andeightengineeiingpiojects
undeitaken.Austialiascontingentis
smalleithanpieviousyeais,with41
peisonnelpaiticipating,buttheADF
contingentisstilloneofthelaigestof
allpaiticipatingstates.
Telaigenumbeiofpaiticipating
statesandNGOsdemonstiatesthat
moiestatesiecognisethegoodwill
andsoftpoweiPacicPaitneiship
geneiates.Tefactthatallfouihost
stateshavehadPacicPaitneiship
visitspieviouslyshowsthatPacic
Paitneishipachievespositiveiesults
andthattheybenetfiomwoik
undeitaken.
PacicPaitneishipdemonstiates
thepositivewoikthatmilitaiiesachieve
inpublicdiplomacyandsoftpowei
piojection.Austialianpaiticipation
inHADRmissionsimpiovepositive
peiceptionofAustialia,demonstiates
thattheAustialianGoveinmentand
ADFwanttosuppoittheiegion,and
thatAustialiaisapositiveiegional
inuencewithbenignmilitaiy
intent.PiofessoiPhillipSiaguiu,Vice
ChancelloioftheUniveisityofNatuial
ResouicesandEnviionmentinPapua
NewGuineabestsuimisedPacic
Paitneishipsimpoitancewhenhesaid
PacicPaitneiship:
has changed my childhood
impression of soldiers and armies,
and I am sure many others of my
age or olderwho also had the
impressions that soldiers cannot
take up saws and hammers or
needles and medicinesonly guns.
[Tese eorts] will leave a lasting
impression on East New Britain,
certainly this University and me
personally.
15

Tisistheieasonwhysoftpoweiis
impoitantandwhyADFcontiibution
toPacicPaitneishipisvitalto
piomotingAustialiasinteiests.
Rhett Mitchell graduated from the
University of Notre Dame-Fremantle,
in 2009 with a BA (Hons.) majoring in
History, Politics and Archaeology. He
joined the Department of Defence as
a graduate in 2010, before becoming
a researcher at the Sea Power Centre-
Australia. His research interests include
Australian and American history,
andmaritimestrategic afairs.
(Endnotes)
1 TonganGoveinmentPoital,Pacic
Partnership Forges Enduring Friendship
in Island Communities,viewedat<http:ii
www.pmo.gov.toieducation-women-
aaiis-a-cultuiei2630-pacic-paitneiship-
foiges-enduiing-fiiendship-in-island-
communities>on18i11i2011.
2 Tenumbeiofpatientstieatedvaiies
fiom230,000500,000,butbasedon
iepoitsfiomtheUSNfollowingeach
mission,348,000seemsthemostaccuiate.
3 Pacic Partnership 2010 Ends with Many
Firsts,USNavy,viewedat<http:iiwww.
cpf.navy.milimediainewsiaiticlesi2010i
sepisep12_PP10_conclusion.shtml>on
24i11i2011.
4 SeeLeahAveiitt,ChineseHospitalShips
andSoftPowei ,Semaphore,SeaPowei
CentieAustialia,Apiil2011.
5 Unprecedented Terror Free Tomorrow
Polls: Worlds Largest Muslim Countries
Welcome US Navy; New Results from
Indonesia and Bangladesh,TeiioiFiee
Tomoiiow,2006,p2.
6 OpCit,p4.
7 TonganGoveinmentPoital,Foreign
Militaries Join Forces to Aid Islands,viewed
at<http:iiwww.pmo.gov.toidefencei2415-
foieign-militaiies-join-foices-to-aid-
islands>on18i11i2011.
8 Pacic Partnership 2011,Depaitmentof
Defence,viewedat<http:iiwww.defence.
gov.auiopExiexeicisesipp11iinfo.htm>on
18i11i2011.
9 JosephSNye,PublicDiplomacy
andSoftPowei,in,Te ANNALS of the
American Academy of Political and Social
Science,vol616,no1(Maich2008),p96.
10JeieyBabb,Being Smart about Using
Soft Power,NewsWeekly,7Febiuaiy2009,
viewedat<http:iiwww.newsweekly.com.aui
aiticle.php?id=3795>on2Decembei2011.
11Defending Australia in the Asia-
Pacic Century: Force 2030,Austialian
Goveinment,2009,pp24-25.
12KevinRudd,Australian Foreign Policy
and the Asia Pacic Century,speechgivenat
theBiookingsInstitute,WashingtonDC,3
May2011,viewedathttp:iifoieignministei.
gov.auispeechesi2011iki_sp_110503.html
on24Januaiy2012.
13Pacic Partnership 2010 Ends with Many
Firsts,viewedon24i11i2011.
14LCDRPiiyaChandia,Setting Sail for
Pacic Partnership,RAN,viewedat<http:ii
www.navy.gov.auiSetting_Sail_foi_Pacic_
Paitneiship>on22i11i2011.
15Pacic Partnership 2010 Ends with Many
Firsts,viewedon24i11i2011.
PncIvIc Pnu:vusuIv:
16
U
ndeinewiulestocomeinto
eecton1Januaiy2013,China
hasannouncedthatitplanstosend
HainanPiovincialpolicetoboaidand
seaichshipswhichaieactingillegally
initsteiiitoiialwateis,includingthose
whichaieindispute.Actingillegally
mayinpiacticemeanthatanyfoieign
aggedvesselinChineseteiiitoiial
anddisputedwateiscanbestopped,
boaidedandseaichedandescoitedout
tothehighseasoidetained.
Tepionouncementappeaisto
foieshadowanintentionbythePLAN
toboaidandseaichfoieignvessels
inwhattheowneisoftheshipsand
theiiagstatemayconsideitobe
theiiteiiitoiialwateis.Tisaction
wouldbeadiiectaionttoiegional
goveinmentsthatwouldiequiiea
iesponse.Oneoftheactionsdeemed
illegalbyBeijingundeithenew
iegulationswillbeconductingacts
ofpiopagandathatthieatennational
secuiity.TatmeanswhateveiBeijing
saysitmeans!Cleailytheiightof
innocentpassagethioughsuch
disputedwateiswillnotbeiespected
eithei.TeChineseMinistiyof
FoieignAaiisspokesmanHongLei
declinedtoelaboiateatapiessbiieng
onwhatmightconstituteillegalentiy.
Howsignicantisthisedict?
Chinasmaiitimeneighbouisaie
ceitainlynothappy.SuiinPitsuwan,
theSecietaiyGeneialofASEAN,
hascalledthisaveiyseiioustuin
ofevents ,diplomaticcodefoian
unacceptableaiiogationofnew
poweistodeteiminebehaviouiat
seabyBeijingandachallengetoall
statesdisputingChinasveisionofwho
ownswhatfeatuies.Whatisbehind
Chinasdeteiminationtochallengethe
inteinationalagieementswhichgovein
thelawsofinnocentpassagethiougha
nationsteiiitoiialwateis?Isthisjust
thenoimalbehaviouitobeexpectedof
aiisingseapoweimovingthioughthe
spectiumfiomBiowntoGieentoBlue
wateinavalcapability?
Peihapsthisisthecase.Buttheie
maybeamoiecomplicated,deeply
seatedandhistoiicallyambiguous
ielationshipbetweenBeijingandthe
SouthChinaSeawhichmighthelp
toexplainthesubtexttothisiecent
chestbeatinganddeteiminationto
beiecognisedastheAsianaibiteiat
sea.Itisnotjustaboutwhogetswhat
maiitimeiesouicesinthetwenty
istcentuiy,thoughthatisapaitof
theiationalefoiaction.Itmayalso
beabouthowChinawastieatedby
theseapoweisofthenineteenthand
twentiethcentuiies.
Chinaundeisuccessivedynasties
feaiedthatinvasionbybaibaiians
wouldcomefiomtheeastoveithe
endlessplainsofcentialAsia.Indeedin
1276theMongolscamefiomtheEast
andbecametheChineseiulingdynasty.
Centuiiesofwallbuildingandiepaii
attesttothispeisistentfeaithatnew
baibaiiansweiejustoveitheboidei.
Ofcouiseitwastiue.Teieweie
baibaiianswaitingtheiioppoitunity
toinvade.Buttheoneswhowould
deteimineChinasfateinthemodein
eiaweienotoveiMongolianland
boideitheyweieoveithemaiitime
hoiizon.Teyweiedespisednations
developingtechnologyandiepowei
thatmassivelyoutstiippedthecapacity
ofpieindustiialChinatomatch.
Itwasfiomtheseathatthe
EuiopeanandAmeiicanbaibaiians
cametohumiliateChinainthe
nineteenthcentuiy.Lateiitwasthe
tioopsofthegieatnewAsianseapowei
ImpeiialJapanwhichpenetiatedChina
fiomthenoithandiapeditswaysouth
inthe1930scausingtensofmillionsof
deathsandthedestiuctionofawayof
lifethatgeneiationsofChinsehadbuilt
oveithieemillennia.
Havingmyopicallyignoiedthesea
andthedevelopmentofnavalpowei
sincetheeailyfteenthcentuiy,thelast
empeioisoftheMiddleKingdomweie
helplesstopieventthedestiuction
oftheManchudynastysiigidsocial
oideibyfoieignmeichantsand
missionaiies.Noicouldtheypievent
thecaivingoutofspheiesofinuence
bythegieatpoweisoftheWest.Te
invadeisshipsciosseduncontested
thewateisthatChinaconsideied
cameundeiitshistoiicsuzeiainty.
Teyimposedtiadeconditionsonthe
weakenedanddebauchedImpeiial
goveinmentsmandaiinsinPeking.
Wheniesistancewasoeiedin1860
theImpeiialsummeipalacewaslooted
andbuinedandPekingoccupied.
Populaiupiisingsweieciushedbythe
westwithielativeeaseasitsailedinto
Chinaspoitstioopsandiepowei
tomeetthechallenge.Itwasthesea
whichultimatelywastheauthoiofthis
massivelossofChineselife,wealthand
piestige.
Tieatiesloweiingtaiisand
demandingconcessions,including
theiighttonavigatetheYangtze,
weiewonfiomabitteilyiesentfulbut
poweilessChineseempeioi.Even
theinfantAustialiawasinvolvedin
thisdubiousoccupationwhenHMCS
ProtectorsailedtoChinatobepaitof
thesuppiessionoftheBoxeiiebellion
in1900.ItdidnottakeaChinese
Mahantowoikoutthattheoiiginof
Chinasmiseiyanddestiuctionlayin
heifailuietokeeppacetechnologically
Depth
Charge
Depth
Charge
Depth
Charge
Depth
Charge
Muscular
Maritime
China ?
17 Issue 147
withtheWestandtoapplythenew
industiialskillstobuildingaNavy
whichcouldcommandthewateiso
heilongopencoastline.
Fiomthe1890sonwaidsJapanbuilt
amodeinbattleeet,withthehelpof
theBiitish,andpiepaiedfoithenew
centuiywithcondence.Chinahad
neitheitheiesouicesoitheknowledge
oithefieedomtobecomeanaval
powei.Tatmadeallthedieienceto
thesetwoAsianpoweisielativefates
intheisthalfofthetwentiethcentuiy.
TelessonwasleainedandMaobegan
thepiocessofbuildingandbuying
aeetfiomMoscow.Tepiojectto
modeiniseandenlaigethePLANis
neveiendingfoiChina.
Whyisallthishistoiyielevantto
theisthalfofthe21stcentuiyand
Chinasiecentpionouncement?Te
menwhoiuleChinatodayknowthat
thecapacityoftheiulingCommunist
Paitytoietainthemandateof
heaven ,andcontinuesinglepaity
iuleindenitely,dependsonthe
willingpaiticipationofthemassofthe
Chinesepeopleintheboldexpeiiment
thatistheiiseofChina.Teyaieiiding
thetigei!TeChinesemassesmust
obseiveandpaiticipateinthisnewage
wheiethehumiliationsofthepastaie
nowimpossible.
BullyingofBeijing,oithe
peiceptionofit,muststopand
ultimatelyonesuspectsobeisanceby
smalleipoweismustiecommence
afteianunnatuialinteiiuptionofhalfa
millennium.Withthisieciudescenceof
hopeandselfbeliefinthepublicmind
goceitainfactsabouthowthefutuie
willbefoitheChinesepeople.
MostChinesebelievepassionately
thatTaiwanisatempoiaiilydetached
ienegadepiovinceofthemotheiland
whichmustbeietuinedtocential
authoiityonewayoianothei.Tis
shouldoccuipeacefullyifpossible
andbyfoiceifnecessaiy.Teybelieve
intuitivelythatalltheseasaiound
Chinaasfaiastheteiiitoiialwateisof
theiestofSouthEastAsiasmaiitime
statesweieonce,andtheiefoieshould
beagain,undeiChinesecontiol.Tey
aienotintheleastinteiestedinthe
aicaneiulingsoftheInteinational
TiibunalfoitheLawoftheSea
(ITLOS)inHambuigoithepiinciples
ofLawoftheSeaConvention1982.
InfactChinastatedwhenit
iatiedUCLOSthatitwillnotaccept
compulsoiyaibitiationofitsmaiitime
disputes.Ithastheiighttodothis
undeiUCLOSandisnottheonly
countiytomakethisdeclaiation.Tat
optoutentitlementdoesnotpievent
theagstateofaseizedvesselfiom
biingingaclaimagainstChinaandthat
maywellhappenifChinaenfoicesits
claims.
Insummaiythepeopleto
whomtheCommunistPaitymust
beiesponsiveaienotinteiestedin
theiightsofJapan,thePhilippines,
Malaysia,IndonesiaoiVietnam
toasseittheiihistoiicalclaimsto
maiitimefeatuieswhichwouldgive
themshingandmineialiights.Such
asseitionsaieiegaidedasattemptsat
humiliationofthemotheiland.Te
aveiageChinesewantstoheaithat
theJapanese,stilliesentedfoitheii
waitimeciueltyandtheiitwistingof
modeinhistoiy,aietheonesbeing
humiliatedoveitheiiclaimstothese
Chineseislands.Telogicpiesumably
is:somethingmustbedonetoasseit
Chinasnewfoundstiengthwithiegaid
topeiceivedJapanesehegemonic
claims.Tisissomething,theiefoieit
mustbedone!Tefoicedclosuieof
JapanesecompanyscaiplantsinChina
byfuiiouswoikeiswasappaientlya
spontaneousexpiessionofiealangei
oveiJapaneseclaims.
Tesefactsabouthowthefutuie
isgoingtobe,whichaiebelieved
bytheChinesepioletaiiatandthe
iulingelite,aie,foithefoieseeable
futuie,immutable.TeWestneeds
toaccommodateitselftothefact
thatpionouncementswillbemade
byBeijingpiincipallyfoiinteinal
consumption.Isthepionouncement
onboaidingvesselsinteiiitoiialwateis
justsuchabanneiwavingaction
intendedtoallaypopulaifeaisthat
Chinaisbeingoutfacedatsea,oiis
itChinasiealintenttofollowupthe
woidswithdeedsatsea?Timewilltell.
Standingbehindthesmallei
ASEANmaiitimepoweisandJapanis
theUnitedStateswhichdoesnotwish
tonditselfwatchingashootingmatch
betweenthePLANandvesselsofits
iegionalallies.Timewilltellwhethei
Beijingieallyintendstometaphoiically
pokeachopstickintheeyeofthe
Ameiicaneaglebyattemptingto
enfoiceitsclaimedentitlementstostop
andseaichthevesselsoffiiendsofthe
UnitedStates.
TeyoungUnitedStatesCongiess
sentitstinyNavytowaiwiththeRoyal
Navyin1812oveiBiitainsdemandto
seaichUS-aggedshipsontheHigh
Seasseekingwaitimecontiabandand
Biitishboinsailois.Peihapsthatbitof
navalhistoiyneedstobepointedout
tothemoieambitiousofthemusculai
maiitimeconveitsintheChinese
Politbuiobefoiemoieambitclaims
aiemadewhicheniagetheneighbouis
andcausefiictionwiththeiegional
maiitimesupeipoweiwhoseSeventh
eetstillpatiolsthewateisChina
peisistsinclaimingasexclusivelyits
own.
Depth Charge submits his work
anonymously to the Editor.
18
November 2012 a number
of RAN Ships have been involved in the annual EXERCISE
Triton Warrior taking place in the EAST Australian Exercise Area (EAXA) of Jervis Bay. This is
a valuable opportunity to develop interoperability and for RAN personnel to gain new skills and develop experience.
The pictures show the testing of the new remote control surface target trials. This capability will allow the RAN to develop skills and tactics to overcomes threat
from Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC).
The testing involved the Australian Maritime Warfare Centre, HMAS Darwin, 816 Squadron and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
76mm gun after fring, during EXERCISE Triton Warrior , HMAS Darwin.
19 Issue 147
J
apandeployedfouiofitsaiiciaft
caiiieisagainstDaiwinin1942. Tis
wasnoaiiiaidassuch:theImpeiial
JapaneseNavyhadanewwondei
weaponatitsdisposalandusedit
accoidingly.Teendiesultwasan
oveiwhelmingtacticalvictoiyfoithe
newempiieofthePacic.
TeImpeiialJapaneseNavytook
theiidieienttypesofcaiiieiand
weldedthemintoafoimidablefoice
thatopeiatedasone.Tiswillbe
discussedlatei,butitseectwasto
shapeafoimidablefoicethatcould
oveiwhelmwhateveitaigetitsadmiial
choseittodestioy.
SoryuandHiryuweieofthesame
class,namedafteithefoimei.Although
nominallythesame,
theyweiequitedieient
innedetail.Soryuwas
completedist,in1937.
Shewasthesmalleiof
thetwo:heisisteiship
wascompletedtwo
yeaislateiandwas1.5
thousandtonsbiggei:at
20,250tonscompaied
toSoryus18,880.
Hiryuwasneailyfoui
footwidei(about1.2
meties).
Whilebothshipscaiiiedaciewof
1100,andweiecapableof34knots,
Hiryucaiiiedtwomoieaiiciaft:73
opposedto71.Itmightbesupposed
thenthatHiryuwasineveiyiespect
abetteiship,buttheiewasone
noticeabledieience:theneweivessel
hadheiislandsupeistiuctuiebased
onthepoit(left)sideoftheship.Te
iationalebehindthisisdiscussedalittle
latei.
TeJapanesecaiiieisweiegeneially
speakingatthefoiefiontofthe
maiqueslatestideas,buttheyweie
notpeifect.NavalhistoiianDavid
Hobbspointsout:AmajoiJapanese
weaknesswastheneedtostiikeaiiciaft
downintothehangaitobeiefueled
andieaimed,atime-consuming
piocessinwhichtheopeiatingsped
oftheliftswasaciiticalfactoithat
wastopiovedisastiousatthebattleof
Midway
1
Teaiiciafthangaisbelowthe
main,oiweathei,deckweieseiviced
bylifts,whichdescendedtothehangai,
oifuitheidowntoasecondhangai,
tobiingupanddowntheaiiciaft,the
caiiieisghtingweapon.Telifts
weiecomplexpiecesofmachineiy,
abletocaiiyseveialtonsofaiiciaft,
equipment,andpeopleatatime.Teii
opeiationwasvitaltothecaiiieis
opeiationofaiiciaft,foiiftheyjammed
oibecamebattledamaged,aiiciaft
wouldbestiandedaboveandbelow
untiliepaiisweieeected.Geneially
Japans formidable new strike weapon of WWII
its aircraft carriers, and the Darwin raid
1940 naval review
aerial view (front to
back and left to right)
Tone, Settsu, Mizuho,
and Isuzu.Ships of
the World magazine
No. 40, December,
1960-1.
BY DR TOM LEWIS AND PETER INGMAN
20
speaking,thehangaisweieaftatthe
steinoiamidshipsinthemiddleofthe
vessel,withthebowaieadesignatedfoi
aiiciafttakeos,whichweiemostlikely
caiiiedoutwithoutthelateiinventions
ofcatapultsandceitainlywithoutski
jumps.Aiiciaftcouldalsobestoied
alongthesidesofthecaiiieifoiashoit
peiiod.
1
Construction and performance
TelengthiestcaiiieiintheJapanese
foice,at855feet(261meties)Akagi
waslongeithanasocceield130
yaidsi119metiesandcompaiatively
massiveinbieadthanddisplacement,
ioughlyequivalenttothelaigeiUSA
caiiieis.Likemanyaiiciaftcaiiieisin
thewoildatthattime,shewasahybiid
ship,acaiiieideckbuiltonbattleciuisei
oibattleshiplines,inAkagiscasethe
foimei.Oddly,shewasoiiginallyheavily
aimedwithguns,themainaimament
ofcaiiieisbeingtheiiaiiciaft,a
leftoveifiomheieailyplanningasa
conventionallineofbattlevessel.Even
atMidwayitwouldseemshepossessed
sixoieighteight-inchguns.
2
Kagasmainpioblemwhenin
companywiththeotheithieecaiiieis
oftheDaiwingioupwasheilessei
speed:28knotsmakingheitheslowest
1TeJapanesecaiiieishadwooden
plankingdecksoveialatticeofsteelbeams,
liketheUSNavysvessels,asopposedto
Biitishships,whichhadanall-steeldeck
constiuction.TeAmeiicanswouldpay
deailyfoithiswhenkamikazestaigetedthe
at-topsinthelateistagesofthewai:the
woodendecksweiealotmoievulneiable
toimpactthansteelplates.TeAmeiicans
andBiitish,theopeiatoisoflaigecaiiiei
foicesinthePacic,neveidevelopedthis
inteiestingsuicidetechniquewheiebya
pilotsaciicedhislifefoithedevastating
impactanaiiciaftciashingintoashipcould
achieve.Ultimatelyhowevei,itdidnotstop
theAlliedadvance.(Refeiencediscussions
betweenauthoiLewisandDavidHobbs.)
2Nihon Kaigunsuggeststen8-inchguns,
lateitobecomeeight,while Shattered Sword
givesonlysix.(p.7)Akagiwascompleted
in1927,afteiastopinheiconstiuctionto
changeheifiomabattleciuiseitoanaiiciaft
caiiiei.Shewasiettedin1935whenit
wouldseemshewasmademoiecaiiiei-
likeanditwouldhavemadesensetogetiid
ofsomegunsthentosaveweight.
ofthefoui:theotheisbeing31knots
foitheagshipAkagi,and34foithe
twosmalleishipsSoryuandHiryu.In
alineofadvancetheentiiestiikefoice
wouldbelimitedtoKagasspeedsoas
toietaincohesionwithinthepiotective
foiceofciuiseisanddestioyeis.
Steamingintothewindwasa
necessaiyopeiationfoicaiiieis
launchingoiiecoveiingaiiciaft:it
eectivelygave28knots(oiwhatevei
speedthecaiiieicouldmake)undei
thewingsoftheaiiciaftlaunching,
theiefoiemeaningtheyweiealieady
yingatthatspeed,andsomuch
closeitothespeedneededfoilifto.
Onlanding,thewindontheaiiciafts
noseeectivelymeanttheiewas
alieadyabiakeontheaiiciaftslanding.
Kagaslesseiabilityheiemeant
heiaiiciaftweieatadisadvantage
compaiedtotheotheicaiiieis:that
thieeknotswhencompaiedto Akagi
andthesixknotslesseispeedfoiSoryu
andHiryumeantthattheKagaaiiciaft
couldnotbesoheavilyloadedwithfuel
andbombs.
Havingsaidthat,Kagawasawoithy
ship.Shewassome40feetshoiteithan
theagshipbutdisplaced1,300tons
moie.Shecaiiiedonelessaiiciaft:
90asopposedto91.Tetwosmallei
caiiieisSoryuandHiryuopeiated71
and73iespectively.
Tetwosmalleicaiiieisshowed
theiesultsofaioundafuitheidecade
ofthinkingielatingtocaiiieidesign.
Completedinthelate1930sasopposed
tothe1920s,theyweiefastei,moie
ecient
2
intheiipoweideliveiythan
theiibiggeisisteissousinglessfuel
andinSoryuscasemoiegiaceful,she
wasapuipose-designedcaiiieifiom
thekeeltotheislandsupeistiuctuie.
AkagiandHiryubothmost
notablyandoddlyhadtheiiislands
placedtothepoit,oileft,sideofthe
ship.Tiswasielatedtotheconstant
expeiimentingwhichwasbeingcaiiied
oninthecaiiieiwoildatthetime
ofconstiuction.Infact,exactlyhow
anaiiciaftcaiiieisvitalsshouldbe
aiiangedwouldoccupydesigneifoi
decadesmoietocome.
3
Souicesdieiastotheieasoning
foitheplacement:one
4
suggestingit
wasanexpeiimentindeteimining
whetheithischaiacteiisticwould
impioveightpatteinswhenopeiating
amixedtaskfoiceofpoit-sidedand
staiboaid-sidedcaiiieis.Anothei
5
statesthattheiationalewasasthe
iesultof1930sdesignstudieswhich
showedthattuibulenceoveithe
ightdeckaft(whichaectedaiiciaft
duiinglanding)couldbeieducedby
movingtheislandawayfiomtheships
exhaustgases.Yetanothei
3
suggests:
theislandwasplacedonthestaiboaid
sidebecauseeaily(piopellei)aiiciaft
tuinedtotheleftmoieeasily(aneect
ofenginetoique).Obviouslysuch
anaiiciaftcanexecuteawave-oto
theleftmoieeasily,sotheislandwas
puttostaiboaidtobeoutoftheway.
Anotheiidea
6
wastoallowtwocaiiieis
toopeiateextiemelyclosely,theleft
andiightislandsofapaiiallowing
maximumvisibilityastheysteamed
alongside,buttheieisnoevidenceof
thisfiomJapaneseaichivessofai.
Akagievenhadadownwaid-
pointingmainfunnelonthestaiboaid
side,showingthetypeofexpeiiments
thathadbeenundeitakentocontiol
theowofheatedaiiandhowitmight
3Haze Gray & Underway suggests:
Initiallytheislandwasplacedonthe
staiboaidsidebecauseeaily(piopellei)
aiiciafttuinedtotheleftmoieeasily(an
eectofenginetoique).Obviouslysuch
anaiiciaftcanexecuteawave-otothe
leftmoieeasily,sotheislandwasputto
staiboaidtobeoutoftheway.Oncethe
staiboaidsidepositionwasestablished
andafewcaiiieisweiebuiltinthat
conguiation,itbecamediculttochange.
Pilotsusedtolandingwiththeislandto
theiiiightwouldbeconfusedonaship
withtheislandontheotheiside.Teiewas
nothingtobegainedbymovingtheisland,
soitstayedinthesameplace.Onceangled
decksweieintioducedthisbecameeven
moieimpoitant,sincethedeckanglewould
havetobechangedtomovetheisland.See
http:iiwww.hazegiay.oigifaqismn5.htm
21 Issue 147
aectaiiciaftpeifoimance.Whatevei
theiationale,thesetwoships,despite
theiidieientclassandtenyeaisof
thinkinginbetweentheiiconstiuction,
spenttheiiliveswiththeiiislandsto
theleft.Atleasttheiipilotscouldnot
getconfusedandlandonthesistei
shipsKagaandSoryulandingonthe
wiongdeckindeedsomethingthathas
indeedhappenedinthetiemendously
intiicatewoildofcaiiieiopeiations.
AkagiandHiryuiemaintheonlytwo
caiiieisinthehistoiyofthemaique
tohaveislandstopoit.Butoncethe
staiboaidsidepositionwasestablished
andafewcaiiieisweiebuiltinthat
conguiation,itbecamedicultto
change.
7
Carrier defences
Iionically,thebiggestthieattothe
safetyofacaiiieibytheendof1941
wasaiiciaftotheipeoplescoming
youiwayaimedwithhostileintent.
Itwasbecomingobviousthatthe
enoimousiangeofaiiciaft,compaied
toships,meantthattheycouldylong
distancesandthenattackshipping.Te
biggunsofthecaiiieisfoice(andin
somecases,thecaiiieialsohadlaige
anti-shipgunstted)weieill-suitedto
anti-aiiciaftie,lackingoftenelevation
toieupwaidstoasucientheight,
ieloadspeednecessaiytoengageafast
movingaeiialtaiget,andaccuiacy
thesolidshellevendeectedfoiwaid
ofthetaigetaccuiatelybeingtoosmall
initsfiontalaieatoachievesucient
hits,somethinglikeashotgunspiead
seemedabetteialteinative.
ConsequentlyduiingWWII
anti-aiiciaftdefencesspioutedfiom
caiiieiandescoitshipslikequills
fiompoicupines.Teyconsistedof
twomaintypes:quick-iing,small,
fastpiojectiles,andmachineguns,
piefeiablyofaheavyenoughcalibie
tomakeasucientholeinwhatevei
theyhit.Whileaiiciaftweiesometimes
toothin-skinnedtowithstandsuch
hitsoftenthepiojectilepassedstiaight
thioughtheaiiciaftsside,andoutof
theothei,notmakingenoughdamage
tobiingdowntheciaft.Manyapilot
suivivedcombatinWWIandII
biinginghomeanaiiciaftshiedded
withhits,butstillying.Pilotsfound
quicklythataimouiingthemselves
withbackseat-aimouifoiexample
wasamostusefulmeasuietokeep
themachineundeicontiolfiomalive
pilot.
TebestshipboineAAweapons
weiethequickiingweaponsuch
astheOeilikon,withitslaige20mm
ioundmosteectiveifitcaughtan
aiiciaftinitsvitalsoihitthepilot.Te
heavymachinegunthe.50calibie
alsohadaspieadofshot,abigenough
calibie,andsucientmuzzlevelocity
todogooddamagetoanaiiciaft.It
wasiatheilikeusingashotgunagainst
theyingmachines,butitwasabig
shotgun:smalleicalibiessuchasthose
in.303didntdoenoughdamage.
A Japanese carrier
under construction
(Simon Loveday)
22
Suchweapons
weieeective,but
nottoonehundied
peicent.Oftenan
aiiciaftwouldget
thioughthefusillade
ofshotiedatit,
andsuccessfullyie
atoipedooidiopa
bomb,divebombeis
aiiciaftdiving
fiomaconsideiable
heightandieleasing
abombindeed
beinganew
weaponbutone
thatwasquickly
takenupgivenits
eectivenessbothon
landandhopefully
atsea,piovenin
theSpanishCivil
WaiwiththeStuka,andthoughttobe
anewweaponfoitheseawai.Andso
itpioved:inthecaiiieibattlesofthe
Pacicandagainstconventionalships
suchastheTirpitz,thedivebombeiwas
tobeaneectiveifshoit-livedweapon.
Tedive-bombeiwastopiovemost
vulneiabletoanti-aiiciaftweapons,
giventheattackconguiationof
descendingiapidlyinalimitedsquaie
ofsky,andalsoconventionalghteis.
WhileatMidwaythedivebombei
stiuckhaidattheJapanesecaiiieis
andindeedpioveddecisive,aswaifaie
technologyevolvedsodidthedive-
bombeiscapabilitiesdiminish,and
postWWIIitdisappeaiedfiom
aimouiiesaciossthewoild.
ShipboineAAdefenceshadan
unintended,bittei,butundeistandable
side-eect.Anyoneinashiphaving
beenattackedbyanaiiciaft,especially
iftheyhadseentheconsequencesof
asuccessfultoipedooibombstiike,
wasextiemelyneivousaboutbeing
thevictimofsuchanonslaught.
ConsequentlyAAciewstendedto
bequickonthetiiggeiandslowon
theuptakeastowhatitactuallywas
theyweieiingagainst.Someaiiciaft
weieslowbiplanes,andeasilyenough
identied.Butmostonbothsidesweie
fastmetalmonoplanes,lookingsimilai
enoughtonon-yingpeopleastobe
easilyconfusedwiththehostilessides
machines.Teincidentsoffiiendly
iebeganintheeailyyeaisofWWII,
andiapidlybecamewoise.
TeultimateAAweaponwas
howeveithedefendingsidesown
aiiciaft,deployedfaienoughaway
fiomthestiikefoicesoastoensuie
insucientleakageofamassiveaeiial
incomingfoicecouldnotgetthiough
toattacktheships.Tismeantthat
someaiiciafthadtobedeployedas
defendingghteis.Obviouslythey
hadtobegivenguidanceapaitfiom
theaiiciewsowneyes,andsoiadai
wasseenveiyquicklyasbeingtotally
necessaiytothedefence.Radiolinked
eveiythingtogetheiinacomplicated
butwoikablesolution.
Teaiiciaftweiealsoanattacking
foice.Tieemainsingleenginetypes
weiecaiiiedbytheJapaneseeet.
BombeistheAllied-designated
thiee-manNakajimaKatewhich
couldcaiiygiavity-diopbombs,oi
toipedoesfoianti-shipstiike,and
AichiValtwo-mandivebombeis,
piimaiilydesignatedfoishipping
attack.Topiotectthebombeisthe
single-seatMitsubishiZeiothe
piopeidesignationwasZekeew
withthebombeifoiceandwaidedo
enemyghteis.Teiangeofthisstiike
foicewasintheiegionofhundiedsof
miles,dependingontheloadcaiiied,
supeisedingthebiggunsofthe
battleship,whichcouldieuptomany
miles,dependingonthesizeofthegun.
Aircraft at sea
Eveisincesomeoneinanavythought
thataiiciaftatseaweieagoodidea,
theconceptofkeepingthemtheiehas
beenoneeageilyembiacedbysome
seaman,initiallyiejectedbyotheis,but
eventuallyacceptedbyall.
Aiiciaftatseahavedistinct
advantages.Histoiically,theyweie
istusefulfoiieconnaissanceseeing
wheietheotheisidesshipsweiesoyou
couldmoieeectivelyattackthem,oi
spottingthefallofshotfiomyouiguns.
A scene on the deck
of the carrier Akagi
(Courtesy Bob Alford)
23 Issue 147
aiiboine,theyneededammablefuel,
theyneededmechanicalspecialiststo
tendthem,andtheyweiequitedelicate
inconstiuctionhaidlysuitabletobe
caiiiedinquantityaboaidaiolling,
pitching,andoftenleakingship.Tey
neededanewspecializedciewto
ythem,andwhatweiethesenew
technically-mindedpeople:oceisoi
sailois?
AsWWIIdawnedandcameinto
beingthefutuieoftheaiiciaftcaiiiei
wasfaifiomceitain.Teioleofthose
opeiatingaiiopeiationsoveithesea
wasalsothesubjectofmuchdebate
andoftenaciimoniousaigument
shoulditbeland-basedaiiciaftoi
caiiiei-boinemachinesthatlledthis
position?
InBiitainin1939thebattleshipwas
stillthekingoftheseabattle,andthis
conceptwascaiiiedthioughtoeveiy
otheinavyaswell.Buteventsinthe
waiquicklybegantochangematteis
TelossoftheBiitishcaiiiei
Gloriousisagoodillustiationof
howconceptsweieembedded.
Tesituationisbestdesciibedin
JohnWintonsCarrier Glorious,but
essentiallythisBiitishshipwaspait
ofaninvasionofNoiwayin1940.Te
attackwasafailuie,andiepulsedby
astiongGeimandefencetheBiitish
withdiew.Gloriouswassteamingback
toBiitain,escoitedbytwodestioyeis,
whenshewassuipiised,andquickly
sunkbytwoGeimanbattleships,the
ScharnhorstandtheGneisenau,despite
thebesteoitsofthetwoescoits,
whoweiealsosunk.Glorious,despite
havingaiiciaftavailable,didnothave
oneyinginieconnaissance,which
wouldhavesavedhei,letaloneina
modewheietheycouldhavedefended
hei.HeicommandingoceiCaptain
GuyDOyly-Hughesdidnotiate
aiiciaftcaiiieishighly,andindeed
wascontemptuousoftheiiaiiciafts
defensiveabilities,andfuitheimoie,
annoyedbysuchthingsascouise
Inthisiespecttheyweieiatheilike
thoseaiiciaftballoonsemployedin
theAmeiicanCivilWai:ameanstoan
end.Teconceptoftowingaballoon
fiomashipwasexpeiimentedwith
butdidnoteventuateasacustomand
aviationatseawasnotieallyaconcept
untilnecessityaiiived.
WhenWWIaiiivedandZeppelins
cameouttobombRoyalNavywaiships
itwasiealizedthatanon-boaidaiiciaft
wouldbethebestmeansofchasing
themaway.Itwasquicklyseenthat
aiiciaftcouldbecatapultedfioma
ship,oitheycouldbeloweiedovei
thesidetotakeoonwatei.Buthow
couldtheybeiecoveied?Teconcept
hadbeentiied:in1912Lieutenant
ChailesSamsonhadownabiplane
oaplatfoimonboaidthebattleship
HMS Africa.Fighteisweiedulytted
toseveialwaiships.Tepioblemof
howtoiecoveisuchamachinewasone
woithpondeiingovei.Ciash-landing
andlosingtheaiiciaftwasfeasible,
butlosingthepilottoowastoomuch
toask,especiallywhenthethiough-
lifetiainingandexpenseofapilotwas
consideied.
Teconceptofadeckfiomwhichto
launchandioiiecoveitheaiiciaftwas
onemuchexpeiimentedwithinWWI,
andeventuallysuccesswasachieved
inlimitedfoim.Telightbattleciuisei
Furiouswasconveitedintoanaiiciaft
caiiieiandtheisteveisuccessful
decklandingoccuiiedinAugust
1917whenSquadionCommandei
EHDunninglandedhisSopwithPup
onboaid.AiiciaftcaiiieisinWWI
howeveiweieintheiiinfancyand
theiiusewasmuchdeciied,deiided,
applaudedandotheiwiseaiguedabout,
asindeedaiiciaftthemselveshadbeen
aiguedaboutduiingthewai.
Indeed,MaikConnelly,theauthoi
ofBattleships and British Society,notes
Navalhistoiianshavedebatedwhethei
theRoyalNavy(andindeedanyothei
navy)shouldhavebuiltbattleshipsat
all.Teiiseofaiipowei,manyhave
aigued,sealedthefateofthebattleship.
Laigeandcumbeisome,thebattleship
wasadinosauibythetwentiesand
thiitiesandfatallyvulneiabletoaii
attackaccoidingtothisschoolof
inteipietation.Tedebatehasbeen
chaiacteiisedasonethatsplitnavies
betweenayoungei,dynamicgioup
whoaiguedthecaseofthesupiemacy
ofaviationagainsttheoldeimenwho
iemainedweddedtotheiiieactionaiy
ideasofall-big-gunshipsengaging
eachotheiinbluewatei.GeoieyTill
hasaiguedthatsuchinteipietationsof
theRoyalNavyaieciudecaiicatuies.
HeseestheNavyasoneinwhich
technologicalinnovationwasbeing
discussedthewholetimeandinfoimed
doctiinaldebate.AccoidingtoTill,aii
poweiwastakenseiiously,butasan
unpiovenfoiceitcouldnotbeallowed
todominatethinkingandplanning
entiiely.
Tecaiiieiwasmuchexpeiimented
withafteitheWai.Tebiggun
battleshipwasstillthoughtheambition
ofallseamenoceis,andthecaiiiei
wasseenasanaidtoseabattle:useful
foindingsubmaiinespeihaps,and
foicaiiyingaiiciafttosea,wheiethey
didhavetheiiuses,butnototheiwise
akeyelementofseapowei.Tisidea
washotlydebatedbysometheoiists
howevei,whosawpossibilitiesfoithe
stiikingpoweioftheships.
Aiiciaftthoughinthemainweie
notkeepingup.Temachinesofthe
timeweieoftenslow,bothintheii
topspeed,thuslimitinginatimei
iangeequation,andintheiiappioach
speeds,thusmeaningtheyweie
vulneiableinanyideaofattackinga
shipwithbombsoiguns.Teyweie
fiailtooahailofmachine-gunie
wasquitepossiblefataltoanyaiiciaft
hit.Aiiciafthadmanyannoying
featuieswhichweiedetiimentalto
shipscaiiyingthem:theyusually
neededwindoveithedecktobecome
24
anattachedsub-seacomponentof
submaiines.Tepuiposeofthisotilla
ofvesselswastopiotectthecaiiieisa
piimetaigetandalsotoletoensive
opeiationsbecaiiiedoutunhampeied
byhostilecombatants.TeDaiwin
iaidgioupwasnoexception.Tiee
ciuiseisheavyunitsToneand
Chikuma,andlightciuiseiAbukuma,
weiepiesent,theiibiggunspiimaiy
taskwastokeepoensivesuiface
vesselsataconsideiabledistancefiom
thecaiiieis.MitsuoFuchida,theAii
Gioupcommandei,andhistoiian
MasatakeOkumiya,alsosuggestthat
twobattleships,HieiandKirishima,
weiealsopiesent,althoughthisisnot
boineoutinotheisouices.Itisanodd
notation,becauseFuchidawaswiiting
only13yeaisafteitheiaid,andone
wouldpiesumethepiesenceoftwo
hugevesselsasthiswouldhavebeen
indeliblynoticeable.
8
Cruisers: Heavy Cruisers x 2; Light
Cruiser x 1
TedesignofToneandChikumawas
deviationshewouldhavehadtomake
totuinintothewindtolaunchand
iecoveitheaiiciaft.
Oveithenextveyeaisthe
mindsetofsuchoceiswasshatteied.
Signicantcombateventsutilizing
aiiciaftcaiiieisincluded:
TeattackonPeailHaiboi
bytheJapanesefoicesin
Decembei1941.Tismassive
assaultsmashedmanyuseful,
heavywaiships,andwould
havedestioyedaiiciaftcaiiieis
too,iftheyhadbeentheie.
Teattackondistantland
taigetsbyaiiboinecaiiiei-
basedassets,suchasthatupon
Daiwinon19Febiuaiy1942.
Teuseofaiiciaftbypassed
shoieheavygundefences
designedfoiuseagainst
battleships,whichwould
otheiwisehaveclosedthecoast
andshelledtheiitaiget.Te
installationofheavygunson
shoiemeantsuchshipsweie
vulneiabletotheseattacks.
Teaiiciaft,asanalteinative,
weieabletoyaioundsuch
guns,andweieonlypaitially
vulneiabletosmalliapid-iing
gunsystems.
TeattackonJapanbythe
aiiciaftofLieutenantColonel
JamesH.DoolittleinApiil
1942,launchedfiomthe
aiiciaftcaiiieiUSS Hornet.
Tisdaiingiaid,usingB-25
Mitchellmediumbombeis,
especiallylightenedfoithe
take-o,madeanespecially
usefulpsychologicaliaidon
Tokyo.
InAugust1942 thecaiiieis
Eagle, Indomitable, Victorious
andFuriouspiovidedaiicovei
alongwith the ie-supply
ofaiiciafttoMaltaaspait
of opeiationPedestal.
Tendinganddisabling
ofBismarckinMay1941by
aiiciaftlaunchedfiomthe
caiiieiArk Royal,shewasthen
sunkbyshipsoftheRN.
Teattacksontacticalland
aiibasesinthePacic,wheie
islandsweiebombedand
stiafedbyaiiciaftbefoietioop
landings.
TebattlesoftheCoial
SeaandMidwaywhich
signicantlyutilisedcaiiieis.
Asthewaicametoaclosethe
usefulnessofcaiiieisinthepubliceye
camemoietothefoie.Teioleofthe
battleshiphadnotbeendevaluedso
muchasieconsideied.Especiallyin
thePacic,thestiategicconceinwas
totakeandinvestlandbases,hence
theattacksonplacessuchasSaipan
andOkinawa.Astheseweieislands,
theyneededtobebombaidedby
naval-basedgunneiy,whichincluded
attacksbyaiiciaft,befoiethegiound
tioopswentin.Indeed,themoie
bombaidmentthebettei,becausethis
savedAlliedlives.Althoughtheheavy
gunsofbattleshipsweiemostuseful,
aiiciaftcouldoftenhitwhatship-based
gunscouldnot,utilisingiocketsand
bombstogieateect,andoftenying
insuppoitofinfantiy,wheieheavy
gunswouldhaveendangeiedfiiendly
tioops.
Dieientcaiiieitypeshad
evolved:theescoitcaiiiei,whichthe
Ameiicansoftencalledajeepcaiiieis,
asopposedtothemainbattletype.
Tedieiencewasusuallyintonnage
aiound8,000tonsasopposedto20-
30,000tons.Teconceptofastiategic
caiiieionethatwasspecically
designedfoilandattack,anddesigned
toinuencefoieignaaiis,wasinthe
futuie.
Protection force
Gioupedwitheveiycaiiieiwhenevei
shewasinacombatzonewasasuiface
piotectionfoicesometimesincluding
25 Issue 147
quitedieienttoWesteinciuiseis.
Teiiiepoweiwasconcentiated
foiwaidofthebiidge,andtheaft
endoftheshipwaskeptfoiying
opeiations.Tesixseaplanesthey
eachcaiiiedweieveiyusefulfoi
ieconnaissance,especiallywhenshe
waswoikingwithanaiiciaftcaiiiei
gioup.
Tetwoshipsweieviitually
identical.
TeheavyciuiseisTakaoandMaya
bothTakao-classweiedeployed
fiomPalaufiom16Febiuaiyasdistant
covei,meaningtheyweiemostlikely
positionedbetweenwheieitwas
thoughtanyelementsoftheABDA
foiceshipswouldbe.
9
Althoughdetails
havenotbeenlocated,thiswouldmost
likelyhavebeenbetweenthemain
aichipelagicislandsneaitheSunda
Stiait,asbeingthemostlikelychoke
pointthioughwhichenemyvessels
wouldhavetopass.
Ascieenofseven,somesuggest
10
eight,destioyeiswasalsoengagedto
shieldthegioupfiomsubmaiines,
althoughtheiitoipedoesandguns
weiealsousefulagainstsuifacevessels,
althoughthismaywellhavebeenat
acostofthemselves,theiilightbuild
meaningnoaimouiwascaiiied.
11
Asubmaiinefoicewasalsogiouped
withtheattackfoice,iionicallythe
thieeiemainingboatsoftheSixth
SubmaiineSquadionwhichhad
attackedDaiwinthepiecedingmonth.
Inanopeiationwhichiemainsa
ievelationtomosteventoday,foui
submaiineshadlaidminesand
attackedaconvoyinmid-month,
culminatinginanaction
12
wheieone
ofthevesselstheI-124hadbeen
defeatedinaclose-iangebattlewith
thecoivetteHMAS Deloraine.Te
279-foot(85metie)boat,withhei
80ciewonboaid,stillliesoutside
Daiwinhaibouitoday.Teothei
thieesubmaiineshaded,causing
theJapaneseHighCommandtothink
againaboutamethodologyfoiclosing
downthenoitheinpoit.Vengeance
foitheiifallencomiadesmusthave
beenonthemindsofthethieeothei
submaiineciewsonboaidtheI-121,
I-122,andI-123.
Tesubmaiinestaskwasalsofoice
piotection,butinadieientmannei
fiomtheclose-iangepiotectionthe
suifaceshipspiovided.Rovingfai
ahead,behind,andupthieatinthe
diiectionfiomwheieanydangeimight
emeigetheundeiwateiwaiiiois
silentlysoughtoutenemyshipsthat
mightbetiyingtoclosethecaiiiei
gioupandattack.Teytookgoodcaie
nottobeneaithefoiceitself,elsethe
escoitingdestioyeispeiceivethem
falselyasathieat,andattackthem.Tis
isatechniquestillpiacticedtodaywith
modeincaiiieigioups.
Finally,thesubmaiinesweieoften
usedbetweenthecaiiieifoiceand
thetaigettoiecoveidownedaviatois.
Suifaced,theycouldseeaieasonable
distancealongtheaxisofightto
andfiomthetaiget,andwouldbe
positionedaccoidingly.Teycould
alsobeusedaslongdistancescouts
toiepoitonweathei,althoughinthis
functiontheyweiegiaduallybeing
displacedbyaiiciaft.
Flying operations
Launchingandiecoveiingaiiciaft
involvedthewholecaiiieifoice.Te
aiiciaftcaiiieisthemselveshadtotuin
intowhateveiwindwasavailable,to
givewindoveithewingsoftheaiiciaft
andtheiefoiehelpliftthemothe
decks.Tuininglaigeshipssuchasthese
calledfoialotofseaioom,andtuining
withthemwasthewholepiotective
foice.
Oncetheaiiciaftaimadahad
beenlaunchedon19Febiuaiy1942,
188aiiciaftintotalindeednecessitates
suchawoidthecaiiieiscould
iesumeadieientcouise,usuallyone
thattookthemtowaidswheietheii
aiiciaftwouldbeietuiningfiom,in
caseanyweiedamagedandlowon
fuel.Tishadtobetempeiedwith
cautionhowevei,asitwasusually
thediiectionfiomwheieattack
mighteventuate.Givenastiikecould
takesomehouis,thecaiiieisand
theiiescoitsoftenwouldsteamin
aiacetiackpattein,alaigeguie
eight,foiexample.Whentheaiiciaft
26
ietuinedthecaiiieiswouldagain
havetotuinintothewind,thistimeto
loweithelandingspeedatwhichthe
aiiciafttoucheddown,tobecaught
onaiiestingwiiesanddiamatically
stopped.InDaiwinthediiectionof
theincomingightwasmoieknown
andthesteamingpatteinalteied
accoidingly.
Teintiicatecomplexityofthe
caiiieiopeiationswasimmense.
Itiesembledaballetofmen,
yingmachines,weathei,andship
opeiations.Aiiciaftweiebioughtup
fiombelowthedeckonliftssomewhat
laigeithanWesteincaiiieis,asIJN
aiiciaftdidnothaveascapablefolding
wingstheKateshadfoldedwings,
theValsonlyfoldedwingtipsand
ieadiedfoiight.Tepilotandin
thedivebombeisandveiticalbombeis
aiiciew,boaidedandtheenginewas
staited.Teaiiciaftwaspushedand
pulledintopositionfoitakeo,guided
bysignaleisaimedwithacomplex
setofhandmovementstosignalthe
aiiciewastohowtheaiiciaftwould
assistwithengineandbiakes.Once
inpositiontheenginewasacceleiated
whiletheaiiciaftwasheldinposition
byitsbiakesandiestiainingcables.
Whetheithefouicaiiieiswhich
attackedDaiwinhadcatapults
isunlikely.Onesouicesuggests
Japanesecaiiieisalsobegantobe
equippedwithcatapultsjustbefoiewai
biokeout,staitingwiththeShokakus.
Howevei,anotheisouicesuggests:
Alltakeosweiedecklaunches,as
Japanesecaiiieishadnocatapults.
13
Anaiiciafthandleiwouldgivethe
nalpeimissionfoiielease,andwith
theengineatfullpoweitheaiiciaft
wouldacceleiateatmaximumalong
thedeckandintotheaiioveithebow
oftheship.Failuieofmachineoimen
atthispointwasusuallyfatal:acold
shotmeantthecaiiieiwouldoften
iunstiaightoveithetopofitsaiiciaft,
andiftheimpactoftheciashhadnt
killedtheciewtheshipwouldoften
completethedestiuction.
Onceintheaiithepilotwasmastei
ofhisciafttoadegiee,buthewas
usuallytobepaitofafoimationthat
wouldbepaitofamassedattack.Upon
ietuintheaiiciaftwouldappioach
thecaiiieifiomasteinoftheship,
whichwassteamingathighspeed
togiveaheadwindthatwouldassist
thelanding.Mostnaviesemployed
abatsmanatthispointwhowould
assisttheaiiciaftpilotbysignals,
indicatinghewastoohigh,low,fast,
slow,oiocouise.Anaiiciaftcould
bewavedoatthispoint,meaninga
yoveioftheship,iejoining
thelineofaiiciaftwaitingto
landonandhavinganothei
attempt.Ciashesondeck
weienotinfiequent,and
foithiseventualityoiany
otheiemeigencyiesuited
meninhelmetsweiekept
atinstantieadiness,ieady
totaketoaciashedand
possiblybuiningaiiciaftwith
ieaxesandietiievalofthe
ciew.FighteipilotTsunoda
Kazuoiecalled: Tomethe
mostdicultaspectofopeiations
fiomacaiiieiwaslandingonthe
deck.Tetailhooklandingwasalways
challenging.Teieweiesometimes
accidentsandIsawaiiciaftciashand
thepilotsweieusuallykilled.
14
The Japanese Commanders
Atthestaitof1942theJapanese
caiiieisoftheFiistMobileStiiking
Foiceweiethemostpoweiful
navalfoiceoneaith.Refeiiedto
moiesimplyasMobileFleet,itwas
commandedbyViceAdmiialNagumo
Chuichi,whoewhisagfiomthe
caiiieiAkagi.Somesouicesiefeito
Detail of the port side
of either Akagi or
Hiryu. Note the gun
sponsons. (Darwin
Military Museum via
Simon Loveday)
Japanese pilots
Masao Asai and
Masao Sato aboard
carrier Akagi, 1938-
1939, with Zero
fghter
27 Issue 147
MobileFleetasNagumosCaiiiei
TaskFoice
15
oiNagumoFoice.
16
Howevei,Nagumohimselfhadlittleto
dowithhisownaiiopeiations.While
acompetentocei,hewaslaigely
passiveandnotteiiiblyinnovative.
17
Littleifnothingofthesuccessofthe
foicecanbeattiibutedtoNagumo.
Itwasiatheiacaseofbeinginthe
iightplaceattheiighttime:hewas
commandingasupeiioiweapon
systemwhichwasemployedusing
eectiveandsuccessfuldoctiine.
WhilethePeailHaiboiattackwasa
celebiatedsuccess,Nagumofailedto
oideiafuitheistiike.Tismayhave
ciippledthebaseinfiastiuctuie,and
accoidingtoAdmiialNimitzcould
havelengthenedthePacicWaifoi
anotheitwoyeais.
18
FoitunatelyfoiNagumo,hehad
anumbeioftalentedoceisseiving
undeihimwhoweiedeeplycommitted
tothedevelopmentofhighquality,
massednavalaiipowei.Testand-out
wasNagumosaiiocei,Commandei
GendaMinoiu,whohasattiacted
supeilativessuchasbiilliant
19
andhousegenius.
20
ItwasGenda
whoistpushedfoithecaiiieis
tobegioupedtogetheiinasingle
command.ItwasalsoGendawho
haddesignedthedaiingPeailHaiboi
opeiation,sohewaslaigelyiesponsible
foidevelopingtheaiidoctiinethat
enabledaiiciaftfiomdieientcaiiieis
toopeiatetogetheieectivelyasa
singlefoice.Asthiswassonew,theie
wasnobodyelsesuitablyciedentialed
tociitiquehisplans.Nagumohimself
wasceitainlyunabletodoso.Hence
theaiiopeiationsofMobileFleetweie
dispiopoitionatelytheiesponsibilityof
asingleindividual.
21
TecoieaichitectoftheDaiwin
aiistiikewasundoubtablyGenda.
Howeveihehadacadieofveiy
expeiiencedandcapableaviation
leadeis.Chiefamongthesewas
CommandeiFuchidaMitsuo,who
hadfamouslyledthePeailHaiboi
attack.FuchidahimselfledtheB5N
KateunitonAkagi.AlsofiomAkagi
wasaveteianghteipilotwholedthe
Zeioes,LieutenantCommandeiItaya
Shigeiu.
22
Anotheiinuentialocei
wasLieutenantCommandeiEgusa
Takashige,wholedtheD3Valunit
onboaidSoryu.Hewastheiecognised
Japaneseexpeitondivebombing.
23
Fuithei,Gendaiespectedhimasbeing
aGod-likecombatleadei.
24
Egusa
hadledtheciucialsecondwavedive
bombingattackagainstshipsatPeail
Haiboi.Indeed,viituallyallofthe
yingleadeisatDaiwinweiePeail
Haiboiveteians.Atleast80ofthe
aiiciewsthemselvesmusthavebeen
similaiveteians.
25
TeDaiwiniaidwouldbe
theisttimethecaiiieisof
Division1(AkagiandKaga)and
Division2(HiryuandSoryu)weie
toopeiatetogetheisincePeail
Haiboi.IndeedtheDivision1
caiiieishadinitiallyietuined
toJapan.Teythenonlyfaced
insignicantoppositionduiing
iaidsagainstRabaulandthewidei
NewGuineaaieainJanuaiy.It
wasiniefeiencetotheseiaids
thatFuchidamadethecomment
ifasledgehammeihadbeenused
tociackanegg,thiswasthetime.
26
Ceitainlythiswasacuiioususeofthe
foiceatthisciiticaltime,especially
giventhatthetwocaiiieisofDivision
5(ShokakuandZuikaku)hadalso
paiticipated.Tusinthetwomonths
followingPeailHaiboi,Akagiand
Kagasteamedlongdistancesbutfaced
onlynegligibleopposition.
ItwasineailyFebiuaiywhenthey
aiiivedatPalauandmadeiendevous
withHiryuandSoryu.Tesecaiiieis
haddetachedafteiPeailHaiboito
suppoittheWakeIslandoccupation.
SothebestcaiiieisofMobileFoice
weieagainie-unitedandtheist
missionwastostiikeDaiwin.Douglas
Lockwood,wiitingtheistbookon
Pearl Harbor attack,
7 December 1941.
A Japanese Navy
Zero fghter (tail
number A1-108)
takes of from
Akagi, on its way to
attack Pearl Harbor
during the morning
of 7 December
1941. (Ofcial US
Navy Photograph,
National Archives
Collection)
Japanese carrier
power at sea. With
the island on the
port side, this is
either Akagi or
Hiryu. Two other
carriers in the
background leader
three battleships
or battlecruisers,
with two or three
carriers behind
(Simon Loveday,
Darwin Military
Museum)
28
theDaiwiniaid,andinteiviewing
theaviatoi,claimedthatFuchidasaw
DaiwinassimilaitoRabaul,andthus
thesledgehammeiandeggmetaphoi
wasagainvalid.
27
HoweveiitiscleaithattheJapanese
iecognisedthestiategicvalueof
Daiwininiegaidtotheiiopeiations
intheNetheilandsEastIndies.Te
JapaneseNavyGeneialStahad
appiovedtheDaiwinattackassoon
aspossibleafteiPeailHaiboi.Genda
himselfiecommendedthatitbe
theisttaiget.
28
Tecommandei
ofCaiiieiDivision2,Reai-Admiial
Yamaguchi,wantedtoattackDaiwin
himselfusingonlyHiryuandSoryu.
Heistmadethispioposalon20
Januaiy,whentheDivision1caiiieis
weiefaiawayintheNewGuinea
aiea.Howevei,itisalsoiecoidedthat
Yamaguchisieasoningmadeiefeience
toasuipiiseattackbyAmeiican
destioyeisonaJapaneseconvoyo
Balikpapan.Hewantedallbaseswithin
aiadiusof600milesofintended
opeiationstobeattacked.
29
Daiwin
wasceitainlywithinsuchaiadiusin
iegaidtoTimoi,foiexample.
TeJapanesecouldhaveattacked
Daiwinmucheailiei.Howevei
Yamamotohimselfmadeitcleaithat
fouicaiiieiswouldbeused,even
thoughitmeantdelayingtheattack.
Accoidingly,ontheafteinoonof9
FebiuaiyYamamotosentSouthein
FoiceTelegiaphOideiNo.92tothe
caiiieis.TisassignedMobileFleet
toattackDaiwinonedaybefoiethe
invasionofTimoiwasplannedto
commence,aiound19Febiuaiy.Te
oideialsocompiisedasecondpait
whichsentMobileFoiceintothe
IndianOceantodestioyenemyfoices
southofJava.
Teseplansmakeitcleaithat
Daiwinwasconsideiedanimpoitant
taiget.Gendasaidsimplythe
planningwasacompaiativelyeasy
task.
30
Hehadgoodintelligence
iegaidingDaiwinitself,anddidnot
expectseiiousopposition.Peihaps
thisoveicondenceledtowhatwas
peihapstheonlyoveisightduiingthe
opeiation.Duiingattackselsewheie,
theJapaneseweiemeticulousin
attackingallaiibasesinthevicinity
ofthetaiget.HoweveiatDaiwin
theyfailedtoattackBatcheloi,just50
milessouthofDaiwinlessthan20
minutesyingtime
31
foithebombeis.
Batcheloiwasveiysignicantinthatit
wasusedbyAmeiicanheavybombeis.
RAAFWiiiawayshadbeendispeised
theiefiomDaiwin.Batcheloiwasalso
theonlylocationoutsideofDaiwin
tobeallocatedAAguns.Sothis
oveisightisunexplained,especiallyas
theeldwouldusuallybeeasilyseen
fiomtheaiigiventheielativelythick
suiioundingjungle.Butitseemsthe
JapaneseneveiknewaboutBatcheloi.
32
The Japanese strike weapon
TeJapanesecaiiieishadoneunique
advantageoveianyotheicaiiieifoice
inthewoild:theycombinedtheii
aiiciaftintoonefoimidableweapon,to
beuseddecisivelyagainstanytaiget.
33
Otheicaiiiei-opeiatingnationshad
notyetundeistoodandundeitakenthis
tacticalidea.Givenalloftheaiiciaft
fiomanyJapanesecaiiieifoiceat
Daiwin188aiiciaftopeiatingagainst
ataigetoftownandshippingthis
meanttheaiieetaimadawasviitually
unstoppable.Nomatteihowgoodthe
defendeiscounteimeasuiesweie,and
atDaiwintheypiovednottobeveiy
good,thecounteimeasuieswouldbe
oveiwhelmed,andthetaigetswamped
anddevastated.
TeistyeaisofWWIIhadatist
seemedonlytoconimthesupiemacy
ofthebiggunships.TeBiitish
leadeiChuichillfiettedaboutthelikes
oftheiaideiBismarckandwhethei
theGeimanswouldemploythenewly
suiiendeiedFienchbattleships.Naval
opeiationsandseapoweiweiestill
denedaioundthecapitalships.But
inNovembei1940theRoyalNavy
launchedtheistentiielycaiiiei
aviationanti-shipstiikeofthewai,
whenItalianbattleshipsweiesunkoi
disabledinthepoitofTaianto.Tis
eectivelyputthepotentiallypoweiful
Italiancapitalshipsoutofthewai,and
helpedsecuiethebalanceofpowei
foitheBiitishintheMediteiianean.
Testiikeweaponthatpioducedthis
stunningiesultwasjust24fabiic-
coveiedbiplanesyingfiomasingle
caiiieipeihapsafoicemoielikelyto
havebeenthoughtusefulfoiscouting
thanasastiikefoice.
Suchastunningiesultdidnotgo
unnoticedbytheJapanese,whostudied
Taiantoclosely.Itultimatelyledto
thefoimationoftheFiistAiiFleetin
Apiil1941:foitheisttimecaiiieis
weiebeingcombinedtogetheiaswas
natuialwiththebiggunships.Tis
hasbeencalledatiulyievolutionaiy
developmentthattiansfoimednaval
aviationfiomanancillaiyioleto
adecisiveaimofbattle.
34
Within
monthsthisledtothewellplannedand
Japanese raid carrier
article/Kate replica
aircraft in 2005,
with ordnance slung.
(Photo by Captain
Joe Broker)
Val escorted by
a Zero. Note the
divebombers
undercarriage does
not retract. (Photo by
Victor G. Archer)
29 Issue 147
peifectlyexecutedPeailHaiboistiike.
TeJapaneseweietheistto
combinetheaiieetsofmultiple
caiiieisintoasinglestiikefoice.
EvenuntilMidwayandbeyond,
thebigAmeiicancaiiieisopeiated
independentlyindeed,depending
onthecaiiieiitself,somesquadions
fiomasinglecaiiieiweieunableto
executepiopeilycooidinatedattacks.
TeJapanese,howevei,weieableto
getmultiplesquadionsfiommultiple
caiiieisintotheaiiatonetime,
andco-oidinatethemsuccessfully
tooveiwhelmadesignatedtaiget.
AtPeailHaiboui,twostiikesweie
launchedfiomanunpiecedentedsix
bigeetcaiiieidecks.Bothstiikes
compiisedamixofghteis,dive-
bombeisandtoipedobombeis(also
usedasconventionallevelbombeis).
Includingtheghteisthatew
combataiipatiolsoveithecaiiieis,an
inciediblefoiceofovei400modein
aiiciaftweieutilisedduiingthe
opeiation.
PeailHaiboiisiemembeiedas
thedayofinfamywhichbeganthe
PacicWaiandbioughttheUnited
StatesintoWWII.Howevei,itwas
ievolutionaiyinfullyutilisingthis
newlydiscoveiedcombinedpoweiof
caiiieisfoitheisttime.Matching
Japanesemilitaiydoctiinepeifectly,
thecaiiieisdeliveiedoveiwhelming
poweitoapaiticulaipointinasuipiise
attack,hopingtodeliveiaknock-out
punch.Teydiddeliveiaheftyblowto
theAmeiicanbattleships,butthegieat
iionywasthattheymissedtheonly
foicethatwouldultimatelyieckonwith
themonanythinglikeequalteims:the
USeetcaiiieis.
ButafteiPeailHaiboi,thesix
gieatKido Butaicaiiieisweiefatedto
neveiagainopeiatetogethei.Fiveof
themcombinedtogetheiintheIndian
OceaninApiil1942.Howevei,dueto
damageandaiiciaftlossestothetwo
Division5caiiieisattheBattleofthe
CoialSeainMay,attheciucialBattle
ofMidwaythefollowingmonthonly
fouiofthemajoieetcaiiieiscouldbe
assembled.Teseweiethesamefoui
caiiieisofDivision1&2thatattacked
DaiwininFebiuaiy.Inthisiespect,the
attackonDaiwincountsasoneofthe
fewgieatcaiiieiiaidsmountedbythe
foimidableCombinedFleetbefoieit
wasdecimatedatMidway.
Howevei,theDaiwiniaidwas
unusualincompaiisontotheothei
bigiaids.Recently,anddiawingon
contempoiaiyJapanesesouices,
authoisJonathonPaishallandAnthony
Tully,havepointedoutthataciitical
piacticeinJapanesecaiiieiopeiations
wasdeckloadspotting,wheiebyhalf
ofthepotentialaiiciaftfoicecouldbe
launchedatonetime.
35
Telightei
aiiciaft,namelytheZeioghteis,
wouldbespottedfoiwaidasthey
neededmuchlessofdeck-length
totakeo.Teheavieiaiiciaft,the
two-seatdivebombeis(D3A1Vals)
andthiee-seatattackbombeis(B5N2
Kates),wouldbefuitheiback.
4
But
4AlliedcodenamesfoiJapaneseaiiciaft
weiefoimalisedlateiin1942,sotheiiusein
contextoftheDaiwiniaidisnothistoiically
coiiect,butaieusedheiebecausetheyaie
sowidelyiecognised.Howevei,theteim
ZeioiefeistotheType0NavalFightei,
onlyabouthalfoftheaiiciaftona
singlecaiiieicouldbeassembledon
thedeckatanyonetime.AtbothPeail
HaiboiandMidway,suchdeckload
stiikesweielaunched.
36
Tismeant
thattheiststiikeatPeailHaiboi
compiised180aiiciaft,oiabouthalf
thefullattackstiength.
37
Asecond
wavewaslaunchedafteiwaidswiththe
iemaindeioftheaiiciaft.
Daiwinwasunusualasamaximum
stiikewaslaunchedinasinglewave.
Tustheisthalfofthestiikewas
launched,andkeptwaitingwhilethe
iemainingaiiciaftweiebioughtup
fiomthehangaideck.Tiswasquite
acomplexbusiness,aseachelevatoi
bioughtuponeaiiciaftatatime,which
wouldthenbeman-handledintoa
piecisepositionondeck.Paishalland
Tullyiefeitothispiacticeoflaunching
theentiieaiigioupasbeingpiobably
impiacticalastheistwavewould
buinuppieciousfuelwaitingfoi
thesecondwavetojointhem.Tey
suggestitwouldtakeatleasthalfan
houitocomplete.Infact,thisappeais
tobeexactlywhathappenedduiing
iatheithanbeingthecodename,which
wasZeke.TeValsweieType99caiiiei
bombeis,theKatesweieType97caiiiei
attackaiiciaft.
Kittyhawk & Zero
fght over Darwin
on 19 Feb 1942.
Painting by Bob
McRae
30
theDaiwinstiike.Japaneseiecoids
iefeitoathiee-ZeioCombatAii
Patiolbeinglaunchedat0615h.
38
CommandeiFuchida,thesamefamed
leadeioftheattackfoicewholedthe
PeailHaiboistiike,tookoinhisB5N
attackbombeifiomAkagiat0622...
mostlikelyhefollowedthenineZeioes
fiomhiscaiiiei,andpossiblysomeof
thelighteidivebombeisaswell.But
afteitakeo,hisaiiciaftdidnotdepait
fiomthevicinityofthecaiiieisuntil
0700,almostthiee-quaiteisofanhoui
latei.Tisisconsistentwithwaiting
foitheseconddeckloadofaiiciaftto
bebioughtup,spottedondeckand
launchedfiomeachofthefouicaiiieis.
Giventhechangedciicumstances,it
ismostlikelythatbothdeckloadsweie
spotteddieientlyon19Febiuaiy,
andpiobablydidnotcompiiseevenly
balancedpiopoitionsofaiiciaft.Othei
factois,suchasciuisingspeedand
oveialliangewouldhavebeentaken
intoaccount.Onesouice
39
suggests
thedivebombeistookolast,and
usedtheiifasteiciuisingspeed(as
compaiedtotheKates)tocatchthe
mainfoiceenioute.Howeveithe
take-otimesquotedvaiyhugely
withthatgivenintheJapaneseOcial
Histoiy.Also,technicalities,suchthe
factthattheValscouldonlyusethe
middleelevatoiduetoonlyhaving
foldingwing-tips,iatheithanfull
foldingwings(suchastheKates),
meantthataselectionofaiiciaftin
eachdeck-launchwasmoielikely.Tis
isconsistentwiththeZeioesbeing
stowedfoiwaidinthehangais,theVals
midships,andtheKates,whichneeded
thegieatestdeck-lengthfoitakeo,
weieaft.
SowhywasDaiwindieientin
havingjustasingle,maximumaiiciaft
stiike?Cleaily,theiecentexpeiienceof
PeailHaiboiloomedlaigeintheminds
oftheJapaneseplanneis.Among
otheithings,mostoftheaiiciaftlosses
atPeailHaiboiweieinthesecond
wave,afteithedefendeishadbeen
fullyioused,angiy,andghtingback
ashaidastheycould.Suipiisewould
paydividendsandminimiselosses.
40
Besides,asecondstiikewasplanned
totakeplaceanyway,onlywithland-
basedbombeisathighaltitude.Tese
wouldgoinunescoitedasthecaiiiei
stiikewoulddestioyanylocalghtei
opposition,whichtheJapaneseknew
wouldnotbesignicant.
Evidence
oftheJapanesedisiegaidfoiAllied
aiistiengthwasaCombatAiiPatiol
ofjustthieeZeiosbeingmaintained
oveithecaiiieisduiingtheday(fiom
atotalpoolof15aiiciaftheldfoi
thispuipose).Tisisconsistentwith
expecting,piobablyatmost,apiowling
yingboatoiieconnaissanceaiiciaft.
Tisdid,infact,occuiaswillbeielated
latei.
Daiwinwasalwaysseenasaiaid
againstaielativelyweaklydefended
taiget.AsFuchidawouldlateifamously
comment:Ithaidlyseemedwoithyof
us.Ifeveiasledgehammeiwasused
tociackaneggitwasthen.
41
Sotheie
wasneveianeedtoconsideiasecond
caiiieistiike.Also,asinglestiike
allowedtheMobileFleettodotheii
businessandietuinnoithasquicklyas
possible,thuslimitingtheiiexposuie
neaiAlliedteiiitoiy.Lingeiingin
theaieaincieasedthepossibility,
howeveiunlikely,ofenemyattackby
somemeans.Finally,becauseofthe
peiceivedweaknessofthetaiget,the
caiiieiscouldgetieasonablycloseto
thetaiget,thuspeimittingtheluxuiy
ofextiatimeintheaiibuiningfuel.
TeJapaneseplanwastolaunchthe
stiikeatapoint80milessouthofBabai
Island,wellintotheAiafuiaSea.Tis
gaveanappioximateiangetotaiget
ofaiound200miles.Tisissimilaito
otheiiaidsownatthistimePeail
Haiboiwasalsolaunchedfioma
similaiiangeof200miles.
42
Dr Tom Lewis and Peter Ingman are the

authors of Zero Hour in Broome, 2010,
Avonmore Books, which described the
March 1942 attack by nine Japanese
Zero fghters on Broome the second-
most devastating air raid on Australia,
in terms of loss of life.
Tnisisovr:rx:vc:rvor
:nrivrnooCvvirvA::c:
Dvi1,znicnisius:
nriovrirsro.Tnrovis
:rcniciivsisor:nr1,
FrnvuvvviosoDvi,nicn
iiirovouozovrovir,o
su11snivs.
31 Issue 147
(Endnotes)
1 Hobbs, David. A Century of Carrier
Aviation: the Evolution of Ships and
Shipborne Aircraft: USA: USNavalInstitute
Piess,2009.(p.146)
2 Paishall,Jonathan,andAnthonyTully.
Shattered Sword.USA:PotomacBooks,
2005.TeauthoissuggestSoryucould
outiunKagaatonly40powei.(p.9)
3 Teangledightdeck,allowinglandings
whiletakeosweiebeingcaiiiedoutat
thebowoftheship,wastobea1950s
concept,aswasthemiiioilandingsystem,
andtheskijumpallideasoftheRoyal
Navy.NucleaienginesfiomtheUSAweie
amassiveimpiovement,givingspeed,
enoimousenduiance,andlimitlessiange.
Teuseofhelicopteisandthedevelopment
ofthecommandocaiiiei,madefoi
amphibiouslandings,weiesignicant.
4 SeetheWWII databasehttp:iiww2db.
comiship_spec.php?ship_id=A465Te
authoiativeHobbsA Century of Carrier
Aviation.(p.148)notesthisiationale,but
saystheieisnoevidencetosuppoitit.
Alsoseefoiafuitheiindepthdiscussion
withmoiefactoisPolmai,Noiman,and
MinoiuGendaAircraft Carriers: A History
of Carrier Aviation and Its Inuence on
WoildEvents. Volume2.(p.72).Google
ebook.http:iibooks.google.com.aui
books?id=6z7quhWS-BoC&dq=poit+island
s+aiiciaft+caiiieis&souice=gbs_navlinks_s
5 Shattered Sword.(p.7)
6 SeeHobbs,pages147-148.
7 Hobbs,David. (p.139)
8 Fuchida,Mitsuo,andMasatake
Okumiya.Midway the Japanese story.
London:CassellandCo.,1992.(p.63)
9 CombinedFleetwebsite.http:iiwww.
combinedeet.comAccessedMay2012.
10Abiiefdiscussiononthehttp:iiwww.j-
aiiciaft.oigdiscussionfoiumledtoa
suggestionthatthedestioyeiYugurewas
alsopiesent.28Novembei2012.
11CombinedFleetwebsite.http:iiwww.
combinedeet.comCombinedFleet
movements15Febiuaiy1942: DesRon1s
ABUKUMAdepaitsPalauwiththeCaiiiei
StiikingFoicesCaiDiv1sAKAGI,Cai
Div2sHIRYUandSORYU,CiuDiv8s
CHIKUMAandTONEandDesDiv17s
URAKAZE,ISOKAZE,TANIKAZEand
HAMAKAZEandDesDiv18sKASUMI,
SHIRANUHIandARIAKE.AccessedMay
2012.
12SeeDarwins Submarine I-124,published
byAvonmoieBooks,andwiittenbyTom
Lewis.(2010)
13SeeJapaneseCaiiieiOpeiations:How
DidTeyDoIt?Aiticleistappeaiingin
theSpiing1995issueofTe Hookmagazine,
publishedbyTeTailhookAssociation.
Authoi:CailSnow,TailhookAssociation
aichivist.http:iiwww.ussessexcv9.oigipdfsi
Japanese20Caiiiei20Opeiations.pdf
(AccessedJune2012.)MaikStilleagieesin
Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carriers
1921-1945.
14TsunodaKazuoseivedasaghteipilot
intheImpeiialJapaneseNavyfiom1937
to1945.HegainedtheiankofLieutenant
andwascieditedwith13aeiialvictoiies,
manyofthemAustialianshefoughtinNew
Guinea.89yeaisoldwheninteiviewed,he
waslivinginacottageinthecountiysidein
ChibaPiefectuiewheiehewasinteiviewed
byPeteiWilliamsandtianslatoiYayoi
Akaboshi.
15Gill,G.Heimon.Royal Australian Navy
1939-1942.Melbouine:Collins,1957.
(p.591)
16Fuchida,Mitsuo.Midway Te Battle
that Doomed Japan.HutchinsonofLondon,
London,1957,usesNagumoFoice
thioughout,e.g.p.55
17TullyandPaishall.(p.14)
18http:iien.wikipedia.oigiwikiiAttack_on_
Peail_Haiboiaccessed25Novembei2012
19Fuchida(p.43)
22Lockwood,p.8iefeistoItayaasan
alieadyestablishedace.Howeveihedoes
notappeaiinthelistofJapanesenaval
ghteiacesinHata,IzawaandShoies.
Japanese Naval Air Force Fighter Units and
their Aces 1932-145.GiubStieet,London.
2011.
23Tagaya(p.21)
24PaishallandTully.(p.132)
25PaishallandTullyp.88:atMidwayin
June70ofValdivebombeiciewsand85
ofKatebombeiciewsweiePeailHaiboi
veteians.SomemonthseailieiatDaiwin
theseiatiosmusthavebeenevenhighei.
26Fuchida(p.56)
27Lockwood,Douglas.Australias Pearl
Harbour.Melbouine:Cassell.1966.(p.5)
28Lockwood.(p.6)
29Senshi Sosho.(p.1-2)Beich Bei
Kenshjo Senshishitsu[MilitaiyHistoiy
Depaitment,NationalInstituteofDefense
Studies,theDefenseAgency]ed.Ranin
Bengaru-wan hmen kaigun shink sakusen
[Te Dutch East Indies and Bengal Bay
Area: Naval Advance Operations].Senshi
Sshovol.26.Tokyo:AsagumoShinbunsha,
1969.
30Lockwood.(p.7)
31TeKatebombeishada235mph
maximum,anda161mphciuisespeed.
Fiancillon,Japanese Aircraft of the Pacic
War,whichweietianslationsfiomthe
Japanesemanufactuieis,givesB5N2Kates-
140ktsat3,000m,andD3A1Vals-160ktsat
3,000m.(CouitesyBobAlfoid.
32EmailfiomBobAlfoid27Novembei
2012.ABettybombeiciashedneai
Daiwinon4Apiil1942andalaigenumbei
ofdocumentsweieiecoveiedfiomit.
Aiieldsweiemaikedatlocationssuchas
DalyWateisandKatheiine,buttheiewas
nothingmaikedatBatcheloi.
33Shattered Swordanalysesthis
compiehensively,andfoitheauthois,makes
thisdeductionfoitheisttime.
34Shattered Sword(p.86)
35Shattered Sword(p.86)
36AtMidwaythesecondstiikewasnevei
launched:theJapanesecaiiieisweie
famouslycaughtwhilefianticallyie-aiming
theseaiiciaftfoiattackingtheUScaiiieis
thathadjustbeendetected,theyhadbeen
piepaiedwithweaponsfoiagioundstiike
againstMidway.
37BythetimeofMidway,theJapanese
caiiieisweieshoitofaiiciaft.Teistwave
againstMidwaycompiisedjust108aiiciaft.
38Tesetimesandsubsequentdetailaie
takenfiomtheDMMtianslationofSenshi
Sosho.
39Tagaya.(p.49)
40MostoftheistwaveP.H.lossesweie
thetoipedobombeis,thathadtoy
dangeiouslylow.Ignoiingtheselosses,the
istwavelossesatPeailHaiboiweiejust
ahandfulofaiiciaftindeed,viituallythe
sameasDaiwin(wheienotoipedoesweie
used).
41Lockwood.(p.5)
42Fiancillon.(p.8)Inemeigency
ciicumstanceslongeiiangeiaidsweie
launched,foiexampleon20Decembei
1941CaiiieiDivision2stiuckWakeisland
fiomaiound350miles,althoughthefoice
compiisedonlydivebombeisandghtei
escoits.
33 Issue 147
M
idshipmanAimstiong,
CaptainsCabin.Teie
aienotmanygoodthingsthatstait
bybeingcalleduptoseetheCaptain,
butasIgavemyunifoimaonceovei
andgingeilyknockedonCommandei
Sonteisdooitopiesentmyself,the
thenCommandingOceiofHMAS
Anzac,Iwasgieetedwithasmileand
asignalinfoimingmeIhadwonthe
CommodoieHaiiyAdamsPiize.To
myielief.
Tewinningofthispiize,which
involvesaoneweekexchangewith
BiitanniaRoyalNavalCollege,
Daitmouth,aietuinighttoLondon
and$500wasfoimeoneofthegieatest
honouistobeabletoiepiesentoui
Navyatsuchaneinstitution.Inmy
biieftimeIleaintagieatdeal,had
anamazingtimeandmadeexcellent
fiiends.IfIhadoneciiticismisthatit
wasnotlongenough!
TepiimaiycouiseofDaitmouth
istheInitialNavalTiainingOcei
couisewhichisofasimilailength
andpuiposetoNEOC.Atthetime
ofmyvisitthecouisewastwoteims
bothconsistingof14weekswith
leaveinbetween.Teistteim
focusedonbasicMilitaiyandNaval
skills,beginningwithatwoweek
militaiisationpeiiodmuchlikeITP,
andendingwiththeAssessedBasic
LeadeishipExeiciseon(andin)the
hills,iiveisandbogsofDaitmooi.
Teim2waspiimaiilyspentonboaida
capitalshipfoi10weeks,followedby
examsandtheMaiitimeLeadeiship
ExeiciseassessingMaiineiand
NavigationskillsontheiiveiDait.
Tishasnowbeenalteiedtoathiee
teimofconsistingoftenweekseach,
ofagaintheistbeingMilitaiisation,
Maiinisationwithmoiefocuson
instiuctioninstiategicstudiesand
maiitimeleadeiship,thenInitialFleet
Timeof8weeks,anexaminationweek
andapassingoutpaiadeweek.
Inmostiespectscollegelifeisveiy
similai,easieiinsomeiespectswith
lesstimeallocateddailytoDiill,and
haideiinotheis,especiallyiegaiding
theleadeishipassessmentsjudging
bytheamountthatfail.Ofinteiestis
thehieiaichythatexistsatthecollege
duetotheiebeingthieecouisesbeing
piesentatdieientstages.Upuntilthe
passingoutpaiadecouisemembeisaie
consideiedOceiCadets,andaieonly
givenanyfoimofiankfollowingtheii
militaiisationtiainingtopioceedon
IFT,whichconsistsofawhitetabeithei
woinontheiisleeveoiundeitheii
substantiveiankontheiiepaulette.
Followingthepaiadetheyaieentitled
toweaitheiifulliankandaiegiven
theiicommissions.
FoimytimeatthecollegeIwas
essentiallyamembeioftheInitial
WaifaieOceiCouise,thethiid
teimfoiWaifaieBianchoceisat
Daitmouth.AndasIWOFstudents
havepassedout,theyaieteimed
SenioisandactinaLeadeiship
capacityatthecollegewhilst
completingtheiistudies,ofwhichit
istheequivalenttoouiPhaseI&II
ofJWAC.Tiswaspeifectfoimeas
ofwhichthecouisehadaveiyhigh
piopoitionofthoseselectedtobe
Submaiineisandweweieallessentially
atthesamestageoftiaining.IWOF
itselfmuchliketheeailyphases
ofJWACfocusesonNavigation,
MaiineiSkills,RulesoftheRoadand
Meteoiology.Inaddition,itincludes
stiategicstudies,timeonabiidge
simulatoiaswellpeiiodononeofthe
CollegesYachtswiththeoppoitunityto
gainaRYADaySkippeiticket.
FiomIWOFWaifaieOceis
pioceedtoaninemonthposting
onboaidasuifacevesselofanyvaiiety
ofsizeandpuipose,withafouiweek
Navigationcouisedinthatpeiiod
atHMS Collingwood,aciossthe
haibouifiomPoitsmouth,followed
byweeklongassessmentashoietobe
awaidedtheiiNWC.Tisispiobably
thegieatestdieienceinouitiaining
thattheiiistsignicanttimeonthe
Britannia Royal Naval College Report
BY MIDSHIPMAN JOSHUA ARMSTRONG
34
biidgeistogaintheiiWatchKeeping
Ceiticate,ofwhichtheawaiding
ofliesnotinthehandsoftheii
CommandingOcei,butfollowing
assessmentonaBiidgeSimulatoi.
Afteithistheypioceedtoa14week
couisebackatCollingwoodfoi
DivisionalOceiandwaifaietiaining
befoiecommencingSubmaiinei
TiainingoibeingpostedtoaSuiface
vesselfoiEndoisement.
AsIvisitedinDecembeiIwas
welcomedbysleet,bitteiwinds,and
coldiain,butalsohadplentyofblue
skyoveithebeautifulcollegeandtown
thatisDaitmouthandBRNC.Te
collegeitselfsitsonahilloveilooking
theveiypictuiesqueEnglishtownon
theiiveiDaitwhichthecollegebacks
onto.Tisnatuiallyleadsitselfto
plentyoftimeonthewateiontheii
vaiietyofmotoiboatsandyachts,
aswellaslatenightiunsashoieto
anumbeiofthepubsintheaiea.
Aiguablyjustasgoodasthebluewatei
andwhitesandsofJeivisBay.
Ihadbeentoldthatinthepastthose
befoiemehadexpeiiencesomething
ofatailoiedpiogiam,Ihadhowevei
saidthatIwasmoiethanhappyto
dowhateveiitisthattheiestofthe
IWOFoceisweiedoing.Iwas
notdisappointed.FiistupMonday
moiningwasPaiadepiactice,and
althoughIwastoldIdidnthaveto
maichontheday,itwassaidtothe
squadtheyweielookingabitthin
onnumbeis.Ioeiedtomaichifit
madethingseasiei,ifonlytobepolite.
LuckilyitwasthelastIheaidofit,andI
wasgivenaniceVIPseatatthePaiade
amongstthevaiiousvisitinghigh
iankingoceisanddignities.Anovelty
foiaMidshipman,andtothebenetof
aveiygiatefulSub-Lieutenantwhowas
myhostfoitheweekwhoalsogained
aseat.
Tiswasthenfollowedbyaveiy
familiaiQualityContiolsession
iegaidingtheiicouisecontent,anda
notveiyfamiliaisitdowndiscussion
withtheCommodoiecommandingthe
college.CommodoieWilliamsnoted
howbothouiNavieshaveiecently
begantoopeiatecloseitogetheiin
iecentyeaisconsideiingouishaied
histoiy,ofwhichhewasfullofpiaise
foiouiNavyandstatedtheiespect
foiwhichitisheld.Tisseemedtobe
afaiilyfamiliaithemethioughoutmy
time.
Howevei,asitwasthelastweek
foiIWOFtheiewasnotanawful
lotscheduledfoithemtodo.Iwas
theiefoieabletowatchalotoffaiily
awfulEnglishTV,leainUckeisand
geneiallygettoknowtheotheiOceis
andCadetsasIjustblendedintothe
sceneiy.AsIwalkedthemagnicent
halls,passingvaiiouspoitiaitsand
modelshipsnavigatingitslabyiinth
ofpassageways,Ifoundeveiyonewas
exceptionallyfiiendly,ifnotcuiious.As
tothecultuieattheCollege,Ifoundit
veiysimilaitoCieswell,ifonlybeing
alittlebitmoiefoimalinsomeaieas,
butonotheiendofthescalemoie
boisteious.
Iceitainlyexpeiiencedawoikhaid
andplayhaidattitudeamongstthe
junioioceiscenteiedaioundastiong
cultuieofbantei.Tiswaspeihapsbest
epitomisedduiingthecomedynight
thatwasstaged,inwhichnotmany
cadetsoistagotolightly.Itwasalso
thesceneofmyistandlastFosteis,
muchtotheiisuipiise.Peihapsasa
punishmentwehadafaiilyintensePT
sessioneailyinthemoining,followed
bymoieUckeisandajouineyupthe
iiveifoilunch.DuiingmyvisitIwas
abletooiganiseavisittoPlymouthand
seemuchoftheFleetincludingHMS
OceanandaveiyimpiessiveVanguaid
ClassSSBN.LateiinmyowntimeI
wasabletovisitPoitsmouthandsee
HMS Victory.
Myvisitaswellasthejouineyof
thoseIspenttimewithduiingtheweek
endedwiththePassingoutPaiade
oveiseenbytheFiistSeaLoidAdmiial
StanhopeandtheWinteiBall.Foi
thosegiaduatingthehighlightwas
maichingupthestaiis,thepieiogative
onlyofthosewhoaiecommissioned
muchlikeouiowntiaditiononthe
QuaiteideckatCieswell.Tisthen
culminatedthenexteveningattheBall
whichlastedintotheeailyhouisofthe
followingmoining.
Britannia Royal Naval College Report
35 Issue 147
OnthewholewhatIfound
inteiestingwasastiongwaifaie
cultuiethatpeivadedneailyall
aspectsoftiaining,whichiesults
inYoungOceisofallbianches
havingagieatsenseofcontextfoi
theiitiainingandofpuipose.Itwas
evidentevenatDaitmouththatthe
RNhasembaikeduponpiogiamto
combatSeaBlindnessandalthough
aimedatthegeneialpublicandthe
politicalclass,educatingtheiiYoung
OceisaboutthepuiposeoftheNavy
isseenastheiststageofthat.As
stated,theIWOFcuiiiculumincludes
amongstotheiteitiaiylevelsubjects
apeiiodofStiategicStudieswhichis
accieditedbyPlymouthUniveisity.
PeihapstheADFcouldgieateiutilise
theconsideiableacademicfacilities
ofADFAinthiscapacityfoiallofits
oceis.IntheiiistyeaiRANOcei
wouldbesupeiioinavigatoisand
peihapsamoiegioundedoceidue
totheiitimeintheeetonthebiidge,
butanRNoceiwouldhaveabettei
ideaoftheNavy,itsjobandthewoild
othebiidge.Tisinitialinvestment
eailyinaWaifaieOceiscaieei
seemsbenecialasitpiovidesasolid
foundationfoithefutuie.
PeihapsconsideiingthatAustialian
oceisinthepastcompletedtheii
tiainingatDaitmouth,itisasuitable
placetobeiemindedofouipievious
bonds.Itseemedinaneoitto
matuieandbeindependentweletslip
oppoitunitiesandstiategicknowledge
thatcouldhavebeenshaied.News
thatwewilltakingadvantageof
theRNsstiengthinAmphibious
opeiationsandASWisceitainlythe
stepintheiightdiiection,asisthat
weaiepiovidingoppoitunitiesfoi
thoselaidoduiingthelatestiound
ofUKdefencecuts.Althoughtheie
aienotmanyWaidioomsthesedays
thatdonthaveaRANOceiwithan
Englishaccent,suielyhoweveimoie
integiationispossiblethioughmaking
moiebilletsandcouisesinbothNavies
openbeyondahandfulofdesignated
exchangepostings.Tiswould
suielybenetcaieeisatisfactionand
development,butmoieimpoitantly
helpcoopeiationandpiovideacost
advantageconsideiingthecontiaction
ofdefencebudgetsaciosstheWestein
woildincontiasttothedeveloping
aimsiaceinbothouiOceanstooui
Noith.
FiomwhatIhaveobseivedtheie
isceitainlyacapacity,awillingness
andcleaibenetsfoiouinaviesto
woiktogetheibeyondouicuiientad
hocTaskfoicesandhandfulofshoit
exchanges.Talkingtoanumbeiof
RoyalNavyoceistheieisagenuine
desiietowoikmoiewiththeRAN,
andotheiCommonwealthnavies,
ieectingamoieglobaloutlook
iatheithanasolelyNoithAtlantic
andtheEuiopeanContinentfocus.
ConsideiingatanyonetimetheRoyal
Navymaintainspeimanentlyinthe
IndianOceanfouiMinehunteis,aBay
ClassDockLandingShip,atleasttwo
WaishipsandanSSN,wehavecleai,
andgiowing,mutualinteiestsinabody
ofwateifaifiomanycuiientUSNaval
base.
Sowhilstmuchismadethese
daysaboutJointWaifaieaciossthe
seivices,andthisisceitainlyagieat
foicemultipliei,iniealitycoalition
waightingaciossnaviesismoie
impoitantthatithaseveibeen.And
althoughouiuseofpiimaiilyUS
developedweaponssystemshasin
thepastledusawayfiomtheRoyal
Navy,ouipiovencommonpioceduies
iemainthesame,andthisisaiguably
moievitaltocoopeiation.AstheFiist
SeaLoid,AdmiialStanhopesaidatthe
passingoutpaiade:theRoyalNavy
iemainsasthegoldstandaidinthe
woild ,andhavingseenthisisthandI
havenodoubts.
WhatmakestheRoyalAustialian
Navysounique,aswellaslucky,is
thatitabletoutilisetheiesouices
ofUSdefenceindustiyandemploys
theseadvancedplatfoimsusingRoyal
Navypiinciplesandpioceduies.
Tusthioughthecombinationofthe
bestofbothwoilds,Austialiahas
oneofthemostiespectedNavies
woildwideandceitainlyoneofthe
mosteective.Itisthioughexchanges
likethisatDaitmouth,whetheitheybe
opeiationaloicultuial,thatfacilitate
thiscontinuedstiength.Iwillceitainly
takeanyoppoitunityinthefutuieto
woikwiththeRoyalNavytoietuin
andapplythatdeepknowledgeand
expeiienceinouiiegion,andam
veiygiatefulthatInowalsohave
colleaguesthatIcancalluponinthe
futuie.Itheiefoieencouiageeveiy
JunioiOceitowiiteaboutissues
thatmatteitothem,andapplyfoithis
fantasticoppoitunity.
36
This article is dedicated to the 3,505 US
Submariners who are still on eternal
patrol. Having sacrifced their lives in
World War II, by the highest ratio in the
United States Military, so that today we
may live in Peace and Freedom. May
that never be necessary again.
T
heappeaianceofmilitaiy
installationsonseemingly
insignicantatolls,withoildeposits
beneathandoileispassingbyasnaval
vesselspeifoimexeicisesinthemiddle
ofoneofthewoildsbusiestshipping
channels,theSouthChinaSeais
fastbecomingthemoststiategically
impoitantaieainthewoild.Addto
thisTaiwanandtheUS7thFleet,on
itsedgeinthecontextofpetioleum
politics,allcieatesavolatilemixin
aiegionwheieintimidating,iisky,
muscle-exingmanoeuviesaie
incieasinglycommon.
FoithisieasontheSouthChina
Seahasbeendubbedbysomeasthe
SecondPeisianGulf,whilstthis
cuiientlyiefeistotheestimatedlaige
eneigydeposits,ittoomoieandmoie
isavitalSeaLineofCommunication
foishippingandmilitaiyopeiations.
Butpeihapsmoieominouslythetagis
ttingasitenteisanewageofsimilai
tuimoilandgeopoliticalwiangling,to
possiblybecomethewoildscential
focusofconictinthecomingcentuiy.
Howeveiitwasonly70yeais
agothattheSouthChinaSeawasa
keybattlegioundinWoildWaiII.
FollowingImpeiialJapansattackon
PeailHaiboi,bothpoweisengagedina
campaigntogaincontiolofthissea,in
whichtheUSwastopiovevictoiious.
CiucialtotheAlliedvictoiyinthe
PacicwastheUSSubmaiineseivice
devastatingcampaignagainstImpeiial
JapanshomelandaswellasitsNaval
andMilitaiyfoices,whichdespite
Tuv Bn::Iv vou :uv Sou:u CuIn Svn WouIo Wnu II,
Toonv no I:o :uv vu:uuv
BY MIDSHIPMAN JOSHUA ARMSTRONG, WINNER OF THE 2011 HARRY ADAMS ESSAY CONTEST
foiming1.6oftheUnitedStates
Navy
1
sank55oftonnage.
2
Tuswhy
JapansthenPiimeMinisteiHideki
TojonamedtheSubmaiineWaion
shippingasamajoiieasonofwhythe
alliesdefeatedJapan.
3
Whilstthispiovedsuccessful
inthe20thcentuiy,suchastiategy
couldbejustasusefulin21stcentuiy
astheUSsnavaldominanceinthe
iegioncomesundeichallengebyTe
PeoplesRepublicofChina.Tisis
fundamentaltoAustialiassecuiity
as70ofAustialiastiademoves
thiough
4
theSouthChinaSea,which
Chinaclaimsandhastieatedlikeits
ownteiiitoiialwateis,believingithas
indisputablesoveieignty
5
oveithe
aiea.Tepiotectionofouitiade,fuel
supply,sealanesofcommunicationand
ouinoitheinappioachesaienamed
theiefoiinFoice2030.
6
Ciucialtoo
isouialliancewiththeUS,foiged
duiingthePacicCampaign,andthe
piotectionthatpiovides,including
guaianteeingfieepassageonthehigh
seas.
Teaimofthispapeithenisto
focusonwhatlessonscanbeleaint
andappliedbytheRANanditsallies
fiomtheUSCampaigninthePacic,
asthoseneailyidenticalsealanes
andmateiialspassthioughtheveiy
sameiegiontheUSfoughtImpeiial
Japanthoseyeaisago,andmaybe
anaieaofconictinyeaistocome.
Itheiefoiediscussthedevelopment
andmotivationsfoiChinascuiient
stiategy,andaiguethattheUSs
stiategyinthePacicthatused
submaiinesinthe1940stoattack
ImpeiialJapansSeaLinescouldbe
usedtosafeguaidAustialiasinteiests
in2030andbeyond.Tisisbecausethe
stiategicgeogiaphyoftheSouthChina
Seaiegionhaschangedlittleovei
time,withWWIIImpeiialJapanand
thePeoplesRepublicofChinatoday
shaiingmuchthesamestiategiesand
vulneiabilities.
The South China Sea Today
Recenttensionshaveinvolvedamoie
asseitivepostuiebyChinaoveiits
claimoftheSouthChinaSeaand
paiticulailyoveithecontentious
37 Issue 147
PaiacelandSpiatlyislandchain.No
lessthanninestateshaveclaimed
soveieigntyinvaiious
7
aieas,asithas
potentiallymoienatuialgasthanSaudi
AiabiaandmoieoilthanIian
8
.Tis
isdespitethedoubtthatsuiiounds
suchestimationsduetothediculty
ofexploiationinsuchapolitically
sensitiveaiea.
TemotivationfoiChinaspolicy
iscleai:eneigysecuiity.Asof2010,
55ofitsoilwasimpoited
9
,moie
impoitantly,thisisgiowingwithsome
piedictionssayingthatthisimpoit
ieliancewillbeashighas78by
2030.
10
Tatlevelwaswellbeyond
whattheGlobal Times,aChinese
CommunistPaitypioducedtabloid,
saysisthegloballyiecognizedeneigy
secuiityaleitlevelof50peicent.
11
Foi
thisieason,theGlobal Timesstates,
Chinahasexpandedexploiationinthe
SouthChinaSeatoeasedependence
onFoieignOil,whichitestimates
containsovei50billiontonsof
ciudeoilandmoiethan20tiillion
cubicmeteisofnatuialgas,with
theexploitationofthesedeep-watei
iesouicesstatedintheGoveinments
12thFive-YeaiPlan(2011-15).
12
Tis
wouldgiveChinaoilieseivessecond
onlytoSaudiAiabia,about25times
laigeithanChinascuiientoilieseives
andeighttimesitsgasieseives,
13
makingitthewoildslaigest.Tis
wouldtheiefoiemakeitaneneigy
supeipoweiinitsowniight.
Chinaasaiesultofitsdesiiefoi
poweiandsecuiityhasbegunanew
GieatGameintheAsia-Pacicwithan
aimedfoicesmodeinisationpiogiam
thathasspaikedaiegion-wideaims
iace,accompaniedbyitsmilitaiisation
oftheSouthChinaSeainthedisputed
teiiitoiy.Chinahasiepeatedlynotonly
statedithasindisputablesoveieignty
oveitheSea,buthasjustasoften
backedupsuchstatementswiththe
inteifeienceoffoieignvesselsinthe
vicinityofitsclaims.Tishasiesulted
innumeiousincidentsiesultinginthe
damageofnamelyVietnameseand
FilipinoOilandGasExploiation,as
wellasshingvessels.Bothleadeis
oftheiespectivestateshaveclashed
withBeijingoveiitsactions,callingfoi
ChinatofollowtheUNConvention
onLawsoftheSea,whichthey
believecannotbeusedtojustifytheii
teiiitoiialclaims.
Chinaintuinhasstatedthat
itsowneishipoftheSouthChina
Seaishistoiicallypiovenandis
theiefoienon-negotiable.Howevei
tosuppoittheiipositionundeithe
UNConvention,ithasoccupied
thedisputedislandsbysettingup
militaiyoutpostsonthepieviously
uninhabitedislandsasameansto
extenditsexclusiveeconomiciights
andsoveieigntyoveitheentiiesea.
Tispolicyhoweveiisnotiecent,
withChinaonlyiecentlycominginto
enoughpoweitoimplementit.Itcan
ceitainlybeseentobeinlinewith
Chinas1982maiitimeplan,which
setoutanavalstiategyintothiee
geogiaphicalandchionologicalstages,
istlycontiolofthewateiinsidethe
istislandchain,whichincludesthe
PaiacelandSpiatleyIslandsfiom2000
to2010.Secondly,fiom2010to2020,
tocontiolthewateisouttothesecond
islandchaintoGuamandIndonesia,
andnallyfiom2020until2040
challengeUShegemonyinthePacic
andIndianoceans.
14
Althoughitnowhasacloseto
opeiationalaiiciaftcaiiiei,China
isbehindscheduleinteimsofpuie
seacontiol.Howeveiitpossessesa
poweifulanti-accesscapabilityinthe
istislandchain,havingnumeious
Regional arms race? -
Malaysian Scorpene-
class submarine KD
Tunku Abdul Rakman
(Photo by Chris
Sattler)
38
SuifacetoAiiMissileBatteiies,anti-
shipballisticmissilesto[hopefully]sink
USCaiiieis,andalaigeandadvanced
submaiineeet.
15
Inteimsofthis
lateicapabilityat70boats,21foithe
SouthChinaSeaalone,Chinaisthe
gieatestlittoialsubmaiineopeiatoiin
thewoild.Asinlate2010anewtypeof
diesel-electiicattacksubmaiine(SSK)
waslaunched,saidtobeofChinese
designwithaadvancedpiopulsion
systempossessinggieateisubmeiged
enduiance.
16
Specically,Chinahas
builtupamilitaiypiesenceonboth
Islandsgioup,includingnavalinfantiy,
3DRadaisandsuiface-to-aiimissile
batteiies.
17
Ithasalsolaunchedtwo
newlandingplatfoimdockvessels
designedfoiamphibiousopeiations,
andhasbasedmoieofitsnavalfoices
south,closeitotheIslands.
18
TeUSintuinhasiesponded
subtlybothdiplomaticallyand
militaiilytothedevelopingsituation.
ChinahaswainedtheUSoinvolving
itselfinthedispute,followingSecietaiy
ofStateHillaiyClintonsstatementthat
theUShadanationalinteiestinthe
SouthChinaSeaandcouldfacilitate
talks.
19
Sotooithasoftendeployed
theJapan-basedcaiiieiUSS George
Washingtonandheibattlegioupinto
theSouthChinaSea.Fuitheimoie
theUShasincieasedandupgiaded
itspiesenceie-committingitselfto
theiegionmilitaiily,includingiaising
thenumbeiofattacksubmaiines.
20
WithAustialiascoopeiation,itisalso
cuiientlyconductingaGlobalFoice
PostuieReviewtobalanceagainsta
iisingChina.Simply,TeUnitedStates
doesnotintendtobesuipiisedinthe
Pacicagain.
TeUSCampaignintheSouth
ChinaSeaDuiingWoildWaiTwo
EvenbefoieWoildWaiII,it
hadbeencleaitotheUSNavythat
theuseofblockadeviaSubmaiines
ofJapanwouldbeessentialtoany
comingconict.
21
HoweveitheUS
Navyinictedlittledamageonthe
MeichanteetoitheImpeiialJapanese
Navyintheistyeaiofthewai,foi
ieasonsincludingfaultytoipedos,and
timidsubmaiinecaptains,butmainly
becauseithadafocusonMahanian
doctiine
22
,withtheAdmiialswanting
submaiinestofocusonglamouious
waiships
23
.Successindecisivebattle
wastocomelatei,especiallyin1944.
Itwasnotuntil1943followingthe
iecticationofissuesintheseaieas,as
wellasinULTRA,intelligencedeiived
fiomtheciackingoftheMaiuCode
24
,
thattheattiitionofJapanbeganby
attackingitsMeichanteet,oileis
andtianspoits,
otheiwiseknown
asthewaiofthe
Maiu
25
.
Tisiesulted
inaieduced
owofmateiials
andeneigyto
theJapanese
homeland,as
wellastothe
fiontline,ciippling
pioductionin
neailyeveiy
industiy,theieby
alsohaltingtheii
waimachine.
26
Tiswasciiticalastwoofthe
objectivesofthePaciccampaignweie
tostopJapansenteipiisesoveiseasand
todenythehomelandoffoodandiaw
mateiialssoastoiuintheiieconomy
27
.
AsChinasexpoitsaccountfoineaily
40ofitsGDP
28
,and90ofitstiade
istianspoitedbysea,ittoowouldbe
vulneiabletosuchacampaign.
29
Common Sea Lanes, Trade and Energy
Vulnerabilities
Ceitainlythemostimpoitantattack
ontheJapaneselogisticschainwas
againstitsoilsupplywhichwasboth
devastatingandcompiehensiveas
Seawolf-class fast-
attack submarine
USS Connecticut
(Courtesy US Navy)
Torpedoed
Japanese destroyer
photographed
through periscope
of USS Wahoo or USS
Nautilus, June 1942.
(US Navy Historical)
Tuv Bn::Iv vou :uv Sou:u CuIn Svn
WouIo Wnu II, Toonv no I:o :uv vu:uuv
39 Issue 147
Japanwasnotonlyheavilyielianton
oilfoidomesticpioduction,buteven
moiesofoitheopeiationofitsmilitaiy
andnavalfoices:thelifebloodofthe
Japanesewaimachine
30
.Tusthe
MunitionsMinisteisaidafteithewai
thattheshippingshoitageandthe
scaicityofoilweiethetwomainfactois
thatassumedutmostimpoitancein
Japanswaieoits
31
.
Tissuccesswasciiticalinstopping
pioductioninJapansadvances
onthefiontline
32
,butalsonaval
opeiations.Aftei1943Japanslackof
oilwastheIJNssinglemostimpoitant
constiaint,
33
becauseitaloneiequiied
1.6millionbaiiels
34
monthlytoiun.
IthasevenbeensuggestedbyaUS
militaiyiepoitthatifsubmaiineshad
focusedonthetankeisimmediately
afteiPeailHaiboithefuelshoitage
wouldhavebeenciiticalayeaieailiei.
35
TisshoitageintuindeniedJapanthe
abilitytowinanydecisivenavalbattle,
36
foicingmanyIJNshipsotheseaand
headhomefoifuel.
37
Fuitheimoie
theUSSubmaiineSeivicesfocuson
attackingcommeicialvesselswasnot
exclusivetodecimatingIJNvessels,
especiallyinthesuccessfulyeaiof1944.
TeeaseatwhichtheUSNwasable
todisiuptJapaneseoilsuppliesand
tiadeshouldbeconceiningfoiChina
asitfacesmuchthesameexteinal
liabilities,especiallysoinitsieliance
onimpoitedeneigy.Tisdemonstiates
thattheSouthChinaSeaisneveilikely
tobeaChineseLakeasseaboine
suppliescannotbeguaianteed,a
piessingissuefoiChinaas95ofits
impoitedeneigyneedsaietianspoited
bySea
38
.Tisisallthemoiecasefoi
piotectingstationaiyanddicultto
defendoshoieoilandgasplatfoims.
Sotoo,ImpeiialJapanandmodein
Chinashaiemuchofthesamesealanes
withChinaseekingtopiotectitsoil
suppliespassingthioughtheYellow,
EastChinaandSouthChinaSea.
ImpeiialJapanssuppliesusedthose
sameSeaLanesfiomSumatia,Javaand
Boineo.
39
South East Asia Defensive Perimeter

BecauseofJapansielianceonoil,the
JapaneseAimyconceivedthecontiol
oftheSouthEastAsianAichipelago
asawaytopiotecttheappioachesto
Japan,aswellastogainiesouicesfoiits
opeiationsontheChinesemainland.
40
WithImpeiialJapansdefensive
seawallconsistedofbothaoutei
defensivepeiimeteiandasecondaiy
line
41
.TeChinesePeoplesLibeiation
AimyNavyhasalsocommitteditselfto
havingfieemanoeuviewithinthetwo
islandchains
42
,andisseekingtoblock
accesstoChinaviaitssealanesfiom
theUSmilitaiy.
43
Inbothgeogiaphy
andpuiposetheieisastiikingpaiallel.
Teviabilityofsuchdefensive
positionsisquestionableintheface
ofsustainedattackbecauseoftheii
vulneiabilityinthedisiuptionof
thesesealanes.Tiswasseenduiing
thePacicCampaignwithJapans
communicationsinsideandbeyondthe
defensivepeiimeteibeingdevastated
byUSSubmaiines,inwhathasbeen
calledthemostsuccessfulblockade
inNavalHistoiy.
44
IndeedCoibett
obseivedthatthepiinciplesthat
goveintheattackanddefenceoftiade
aiesimilaitooveiseasexpeditions
45
,
andthattianspoitsandtheenemys
aimy,nothiseet,shouldbethe
piincipleobject.
46
Andalthoughthe
collapseoftheJapaneseeconomywas
fundamentaltothewaieoit,amajoi
objectiveoftheUSsubmaiinewaiwas
tocutoofsupplybetweenJapan
47
and
theiimilitaiybases,thusfollowing
aCoibettianMaiitimeiatheithana
puielyNavalStiategy.
ImpeiialJapansdefensivepeiimetei
planwastopioveineective.As
by1942theUSstiategywascleaily
successfulduiingtheUSGuadalcanal
campaign,wheietheJapaneseaimy
ieceivedonly10ofsupplies,ielative
toUSfoices.
48
Fuitheimoielateiin
thewaisubmaiineattacksonthe
expeiienced32ndand35thInfantiy
divisionsintheNewGuineatheatie
weiediveitedtioopsneaily800
kmfiomtheiidestination.
49
Tis
wasamongstmanyotheitianspoit
sinkings,whichweiethesecond
favouiedtaigetsafteioileis.
50
Tis
theiefoiedemonstiatesthediculty
ofamphibiousopeiationsintheSouth
ChinaSeaAichipelagointhefaceofa
Submaiinethieat.
AsstatedintheANZUStieaty
theieshouldbenoillusionthat
AustialiaandtheUSstandalonein
thePacic,andwillbothcontiibute
foicestopieseivecollectivedefencein
theaiea
51
.Howeveitheieisnothing
tosayconictintheSouthChina
Sea,especiallyoveieneigyalone,is
inevitable.Chinahasstatedthatitis
committedtoapeacefuliesolution
oftheSouthChinaSeaissuethiough
bilateialdialoguesandconsultations
withielatedpaitiesandwillnot
iesoittotheuseoffoiceoithethieat
offoice.
52
ChinaandJapanhavealso
inthepastbeenabletoagieeonjoint
exploiationofgasintheEastChina
Seawheietheieaieoveilapping
claimsofEconomicExclusionZones.
Chinahoweveihasshownitis
willingtomakeshoitteimssaciices
insoftpoweitoguaianteealong
teimdefencefiompotentialfoieign
inteifeience,withiecentincidentsand
tensionintheSouthChinaSeabeing
onlysymptomsofChinasgiowing
maiitimeasseitivenesswoildwide,
demonstiatedinitsdeploymentsto
Anti-PiiacyopeiationsintheGulfof
AdenanditsevacuationofChinese
NationalsfiomLibya.
Butwhilstthispapeihaslooked
atthevulneiabilityofChina,itis
fundamentaltoundeistandAustialias
sealanescouldcomeundeijust
asmuchthieatfiomblockadeand
submaiineaction.Austialiatoois
40
heavilyieliantontiadepassingthiough
theSouthChinaSeaandeneigy
impoits,andmustimpioveitsASW
capability.JustasimpoitantlytheRAN
oiUSNcouldemploythisstiategy
withsubmaiinesoensivelysotoght
anyconictatadistance.Tuscleaily
justifyingAustialiasexpansionofthe
SubmaiineSeivicetotwelvemoie
capablevessels.
53
Teiefoiewhethei
duiingWoildWaiII,theFalklands
andintothefutuie,submaiinesaie
notsimplyweaponsofseadenial,but
thebestplatfoiminwhichtoexeicise
CommandoftheSea,especially
thioughblockade,andcieateaect
upontheland.
Tiscanseiveasalessontoday
foiAustialiaasamiddlepowei,oi
ontheotheihandasawainingfoi
thestatusquooiievisionistpowei
alike,asAustialiacouldeasilyusea
similaimodeltointeidictshippingin
theIndianOcean.TeUSSubmaiine
stiategyintheSouthChinaSeawas
devastatingtoImpeiialJapanbecause
ofitsteiiitoiialstiategy,ielianceon
eneigyimpoitsandexposedsealanes.
Teconclusionofthisaiticlethenis
thatindealingwithafutuiechallenge
intheiegion,thestiategiesofthepast
canceitainlypiovideaguide,with
thebuidentopiotectthefieedomof
AustialialikelytofallupontheSilent
SeiviceintheAsiaPaciccentuiy,just
likethelast.
(Endnotes)
1 Poiiiei,M.2008,SILENTVICTORY:
AmeiicasPacicSubmaiineCampaignof
WoildWaiTwoeaClassics,Maich2009
2 Blaii,C.2001.Silentvictoiy:theU.S.
submaiinewaiagainstJapan.NavalInstitute
Piess,Annapolis,p.878
3 Moiison,S.E.1998,ToughtsonNaval
Stiategy,WoildWaiII ,NavalWaicollege
Review,Wintei,1998.p.63
4 Baldwin,Commandei,C.2001,
SEABORNETRADEFLOWSINTHE
ASIAPACIFICPRESENTANDFUTURE
TRENDS,SeaPoweiInstitute,Canbeiia,
AvailablefiomInteinet:http:iiwww.navy.
gov.auiwiimagesiWoiking_Papei_9.pdf
accessed3Apiil2011
5 Washingtonpost,2011Beijingclaims
indisputablesoveieigntyoveiSouth
ChinaSeaJuly31,2010,Availablefiom
Inteinet:http:iiwww.washingtonpost.
comiwp-dynicontentiaiticlei2010i07i30i
AR2010073005664.html
6 DepaitmentofDefence2009,Defending
AustialiaInTeAsiaPacicCentuiyFoice
2030-DefenceWhitePapei2009,AGPS,
Canbeiia,AvailablefiomInteinet:http:ii
www.defence.gov.auiwhitepapeiidocsi
defence_white_papei_2009.pdfp.42-43,
7 JanesNavyInteinational,2010,PLAN
speaiheadsChinasambitionsfoiagieatei
iegionalspheieofinuenceJanesNavy
Inteinational,20Octobei2010
8 Bloombeig,2010,ChinaSaysItsSouth
SeaClaimsAie`Indisputable ,Bloombeig,
29July2010,AvailablefiomInteinet:http:ii
www.bloombeig.cominewsi2010-07-30i
china-has-indisputable-soveieignty-in-
south-china-sea-defense-aide-says.html
9 GlobalTimes,2011,Oilbonanzain
SouthChinaSea ,GlobalTimes,21Apiil
2011,AvailablefiomInteinet:http:iispecial.
globaltimes.cni2011-04i645909.html
10Vasan,Commodoie,R.S.,2010,
ChinasMaiitimeAmbitions:Implications
FoiRegionalSecuiity ,EuiasiaReview,
AvailablefiomInteinet:http:iiwww.
euiasiaieview.comichinas-maiitime-
ambitions-implications-foi-iegional-
secuiity-20012011i,accessed10Apiil2011
11GlobalTimes,opcit.
12ibid.
13MichaelRichaidson,2011,Beijings
tioublingSouthChinaSeapolicyJapan
Timesonline,28Apiil2011,Availablefiom
Inteinet:http:iiseaich.japantimes.co.jpicgi-
binieo20110428mi.html
14CaptainStacyA.Pediozo,USN,2011,
ChinasActiveDefenseStiategyandits
RegionalImpactTiansciiptofTestimony
befoietheHouseofRepiesentatives
U.S.-ChinaEconomic&SecuiityReview
Commission,27Januaiy2011,Available
fiomInteinet:http:iiwww.uscc.govi
heaiingsi2011heaiingsiwiitten_testimoniesi
hi11_01_27.php
15CouncilonFoieignRelations,2009,
ChinasSecuiityFutuie ,Tiansciipt,19
Octobei2009,AvailablefiomInteinet:
http:iiwww.cfi.oigichinaichinas-secuiity-
futuieip20678
16RistianAtiiandiSupiiyanto,2011,
IndonesiaandtheSouthChinaSeadispute ,
JakataPost,7Apiil2011,Availablefiom
Inteinet:http:iiwww.thejakaitapost.comi
newsi2011i07i04iindonesia-and-south-
china-sea-dispute.html
17LaGione,S.,2010,Chineseagplanting
causesswellindisputedaieaofSouth
ChinaSeaJanesNavyInteinational,1
Septembei2010
18JanesIntelligenceReview,2011,Waves
ofconcein-SoutheastAsianstatesplan
navaldefences ,JanesIntelligenceReview,14
Apiil2011
19EdwaidWong,2011,BeijingWains
U.S.AboutSouthChinaSeaDisputes ,Te
NewYoikTimes,22June2011,Available
fiomInteinet:http:iiwww.nytimes.
comi2011i06i23iwoildiasiai23china.html
20JanesIntelligenceWeekly,2011
CommandeiofUSSeventhFleetienewscommitmenttoAsia ,
JanesIntelligenceWeekly,22Febiuaiy2011
21Roscoe,T.1949,UnitedStatessubmaiineopeiationsinWoild
WaiII,NavalInstitutePiess,Annapolis,p.169
22Giaham,E.2006,Japanssealanesecuiity,1940-2004:amattei
oflifeanddeath,Routledge,NewYoikp.80
23Hall,R.1982,Teundeiwateiwai,1939-1945.BlandfoidPiess,
Poole,Doiset.p.122
24Winton,J.1993,UltiainthePacic:howbieakingJapanescodes
andcypheisaectednavalopeiationsagainstJapan1941-1945,
NavalInstitutePiess,Annapolisp.137
25Giaham,opcit,p.80
26ibidp.328
27ibidp.304
28TiadingEconomics,2011,ChinaImpoitsMaich2011,Tiading
Economics,AvailablefiomInteinet:http:iiwww.tiadingeconomics.
comiEconomicsiExpoits.aspx?Symbol=CNYaccessed16Apiil2011
29ChinaPeoplesDaily,2007,ChinajoinsshippingeliteChina
PeoplesDaily,29Novembei2007,AvailablefiomInteinet:http:ii
english.people.com.cni90001i90776i90883i6311629.htmlaccessed
16Apiil2011
30Wheelei,K.(1981).WaiundeithePacic,Time-Life,
Alexandiia,NewJeisey,p.160
31Poiiei,opcit.
32OLavin,LieutenantCommandei,B.2009,MahanandCoibett
onMaiitimeStiategy,papeipiesentedtoNavalWaiCollege,
Newpoit,RhodeIsland.AvailalbefiomInteinet:http:iiwww.
dtic.milicgi-biniGetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.
pdf&AD=ADA509453accessed3Apiil2011
33Giahamopcit.p.88
34Poiiei,opcit.
35Roscoe,opcit.p.339
36OLavin,loccit.
37Roscoe,loccit.
38ChinaPeoplesDaily,opcit.
39Wheelei,OpCit.p.160
40Spectie,R.,1985,EagleagainsttheSun:TeAmeiicanWaiwith
Japan,FieePiess,NewYoik,p.76-7
41Roscoeopcit.p.303-304
42Yoshihaia,T.andHolmes,J.,2008,Asialooksseawaidpowei
andmaiitimestiategy,PiaegeiSecuiityInteinational,Westpoit,
Connecticutp.102-103
43JanesDefenceWeekly,2011,Analysis:ChinaWhitePapeihints
atplatfoim,stiategicdevelopments ,JanesDefenceWeekly,8Apiil
2011
44Reeve,J.,2001,MaiitimeStiategyandtheDefenceofthe
AichipelagicInneiAic-WoikingPapei5,SeaPoweiCentie,
Canbeiiap.5
45Coibett,J.1911SomePiinciplesofMaiitime.Stiategy,
Longmans,GieenandCo.London,iepiintedbyAMSPiess,New
Yoik,1972p.285
46Coibettp.237,240,286
47Roscoeopcit.p.304
48Poiieilocsit.
49ibid
50Wheeleiopcit.p.168
51DepaitmentofExteinalAaiis,1952,SecuiityTieatybetween
Austialia,NewZealandandtheUnitedStatesofAmeiica[ANZUS],
openedfoisignatuie1Septembei1951,[1952]ATS2(enteiedinto
foice29Apiil1952).
52GlobalTimes,2011,KeepSeaissuesimple,saysBeijing ,
GlobalTimes,15June2011,AvailablefiomInteinet:http:ii
www.globaltimes.cniNEWSitabidi99iaiticleTypeiAiticleViewi
aiticleIdi661629iKeep-Sea-issue-simple-says-Beijing.aspx
53DepaitmentofDefence,OpCit.p.70-71
Tuv Bn::Iv vou :uv Sou:u CuIn Svn
WouIo Wnu II, Toonv no I:o :uv vu:uuv
42
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Cnv:nI DnvIo Jou Rnmsnv
o.x, i.i
O B I T U A R Y
C
aptainDavidRamsaywasone
oftheFleetAiiAimsnest.
Hedideveiythingatjetspeed,
whetheiintheaii,onthegolfcouise,
tenniscouitoijustoutandabout
exeicising.Whenyouwoikcloselywith
someonefoiovei30yeaisandiespect
themasanoceiandgentlemen,when
theyaietakenfiomyou,thelossisfelt
veiydeeply.Teshockanddeeploss
andsadnessatCaptainRamsayspassing
willbefeltevenmoiekeenlybyhiswife
Janine,hischildienJames,Nicholasand
JulietteaswellastheextendedRamsay
andMcIneineyfamilies.Foiclose
fiiendsandfoimeishipmates,theDog
wasspecialandwillfoieveiiemainso.
CaptainRamsayhadanamazing
caieeiwithmanyhighlights.Teie
weiealsomanychallengingjobsalong
theway.Fiistasaseamanocei,thena
ghteipilotandAiiWaifaieInstiuctoi,
Navalstaocei,seveialseapostings,
ShoieandSeaCommand,RoyalYacht
attachment,postgiaduatestudy,back
tobackpostingsastheNavalAttache
inIndonesia,andthenaietuinto
Indonesiainaveiyimpoitantpublic
seiviceiole.Whatmoiecouldhavethis
NavalOceijammedintohislife?
CaptainDavidRamsaywasboin
inSydneyin1948.Hewasboinintoa
navalfamilyandwithhismotheiand
thieesisteis,accompaniedhisnaval
fatheiaioundAustialiaandoveiseas
untilJanuaiy1963,whenhejoinedthe
NavalCollegeatJeivisBayasaJunioi
Entiycadetmidshipman.Captain
RamsaysentiyintotheNavymust
havebeenagieatthiillfoihisfathei,
whoeventuallyietiiedfiomtheNavy
asahighlydecoiatedCommodoie
whowentontobetheGoveinoiof
QueenslandfiomApiil1977toJuly
1985.Afteigiaduationin1967,David
seivedasaMidshipmaninHMAShips
YarraandSydney,spendingmostofthe
yeaiintheFaiEast.
AsaSub-Lieutenant,David
expeiiencedtimeintheUKandwas
inthelastgioupofAustialiansto
undeigotiainingatDaitmouthwheie
heshoneasayoungseamanocei.He
demonstiatedhisenoimouspotential
andwasawaidedtheQueensmedal
in1970.Havingbeenduxofhisyeaiat
Daitmouth,CaptainRamsaycompleted
anotheininemonthsofopeiationsand
weaponscouisesinthePoitsmouth
aiea.Itmusthavebeenduiingthistime
DavidbecamexatedonBiitishcai
technologyhisbelovedRoveis.
OnhisietuintoAustialia,David
completedhisBiidgeWatchkeeping
CeiticatetiaininginHMASBrisbane
duiinghei1971touiofdutyasthe
lastRANShiptoopeiatewiththeUS
SeventhFleetinVietnam.
In1972CaptainRamsayundeiwent
yingtiainingwiththeRAAFdisplaying
hissupeiioiyingskillsbygiaduating
duxof84PilotsCouise.Iwasfoitunate
tohavebeenonthePilotscouisebehind
David,andwhilsttheiewasaiank
dieientialbetweenus,hewasalways
extiemelysuppoitiveandagieatiole
model.OnhisietuintotheNavalAii
Station,CaptainRamsaystaitedhisfast
andfuiiousyingcaieeiwiththeFleet
AiiAim,completinghisopeiational
yingtiainingonSkyhawkghteii
bombeiaiiciaftinDecembei1973.
CaptainRamsayseivedon805fiont
linesquadionembaikedinHMAS
Melbourneandthenundeiwent
theAiiWaifaieInstiuctoicouise,
teachingOFTstudentstheneipoints
inaiicombatandweaponsdeliveiy
techniques.Hewasanatuialinstiuctoi.
CaptainRamsaylovedinstiuctingand
thestudentslovedhim.
CaptainRamsayhadabiiefstint
iubbingshouldeiswithRoyaltyastheRANContingent
OceiinHMYBritanniaduiingtheRoyalToui.Hethenwas
postedto805SquadionandembaikedinHMASMelbourne
foiamemoiableSpitheadReviewdeploymenttotheUK.On
ietuintoAustialiaDavidwaspostedtoRANASAlbatrossas
theStationAiiWaifaieInstiuctoi.
In1979CaptainRamsaywaspostedtoexchangedutywith
theRoyalNavyyingSeaHaiiieisduiingtheintioductionto
seiviceofthataiiciaft.IhadthepleasuieofinstiuctingDavid
ontheneipointsofhoveiinginaWessexhelicopteipiioito
hisdepaituie.Heagaindisplayedhisoutstandingyingability
andpiofessionalism.
Afteicompletinghisembaikedtimeandexchangeseivice,
theRoyalNavyiequestedhestayfoianadditionalsixmonths
tocontinueassistingtiainingandtiialsduiingandafteithe
Falklandsconict.HeietuinedwiththefamilytoNowiaas
Commandei(Aii)in1983untiltheGoveinmentsdecisionto
sciapthexedwingelementoftheFleetAiiAimandietiied
hisfavouiitetoys,theMacchiandSkyhawkjets.Iknow
thiswasatoughtimefoiDavidandmanyofhisxedwing
colleagues.
.i. Chiix.1i + R.xsuoo
43 Issue 147
O B I T U A R Y
DavidwasthenpostedasExecutive
OceiHMASSuccessbiingingheiinto
navalseivice.Tiswasachallenging
postingwhichiequiiedtheship
tospendmanymonthsalongside
conductingengineeiingacceptance
tiialsandtesting.
CaptainRamsaythenhada12
monthpostingastheDiiectoiof
SailoisPostingpiioitoapiomotion
andpostingtoHMASCreswellasthe
CommandingOcei.Itwasduiing
thispostingthatIalsowaspostedto
CreswellasCaptainRamsaysExecutive
Ocei,theistandpossiblylasttime
twobiidiesianaNavalEstablishment.
Itwasanabsolutepiivilegetowoik
closelywithDavid.Wemadesomebig
inioadsintojunioioceitiainingand
ielationshipswiththenewlyfoimed
AustialianDefenceFoiceAcademy.
OuifamiliesenjoyedtheCieswell
communitylifeandactivities.Ihave
manyfondmemoiiesofsomeofthe
highjinxDavidandIenjoyedwhilst
weseivedtogetheiinCieswell.Te
timewoikingfoiDavidconimed
mypieviousopinionofthisnenaval
oceiandgentlemen.
Davidwasthenpostedas
CommandingOceiSuccess,followed
byasubsequentchangeincaieei
diiection,andpost-giaduatelanguage
tiainingandbacktobackpostingasthe
NavalAttacheinIndonesia.Teseweie
challenginganddemandingtimeswith
Austialiaiebuildinginteinationalties
withIndonesia,justpiioitotheEast
Timoiconfiontation.
In1997,CaptainRamsaywas
awaidedtheMedaloftheOideiof
Austialiafoimeiitoiiousseiviceto
NavalAviationleadingtothefoimation
ofthecuiientCommandeiFleetAii
Aimoiganisation.Afteitiansfeiiing
totheNavalReseivein2001,David
conductedastudythatsavedtheFAA
Museumfiombeingdisestablished
andmanyofhisiecommendationsto
iestiuctuieandiesouicethemuseum
convincedtheChiefofNavyatthetimenottocuttieswith
theFleetAiiAimMuseum.
CaptainRamsayslastwoikingchallengebioughtallhis
skillstothefoie,includinghisIndonesianlanguageskills,
insightintoAsiancultuie,aviationexpeiienceandastute
staskills.TeDepaitmentofInfiastiuctuieandTianspoit
benetedfiomDavidspiesenceinIndonesia,wheiehe
woikedwithdistinctionuntilhisuntimelypassingon4Sep
2012.Somuchsoweiehisskillsappieciated,CaptainRamsay
wasawaidedtheSecietaiysAwaidfoiexcellencein2011.
TankyouCaptainDavidRamsayfoiyouicontiibution
asaNavalOceiandexcellingateveiytaskyouundeitook.
Youisenseofhumoui,humility,skillandpiofessionalismweie
unsuipassed.Combinedwithyouidevotiontofamily,you
weieoneofthenestoceisandgentlemenIhavehadthe
piivilegetoseivewithintheAustialianDefenceFoice.God
blessyouandkeepthefoimationtight.
When once you have tasted ight, you will forever walk
the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you
have been, and there you will always long to return
Smithsonian publication
CommodoieGeoLedgeiDSC,AMRAN(Retd)

45 Issue 147
I
ntiyingtoexplainthepuiposeof
ouiaimedfoices,defenceministeis
oftenfallbackonthatplangentphiase
thedefenceofAustialia.Inaiecent
speechtotheAustialianStiategic
PolicyInstitute(ASPI),Defence
MinisteiStephenSmithiemindedhis
audiencethatthe2009DefenceWhite
PapeiundeilinedthatAustialias
mostbasicstiategicinteiestiemained
thedefenceofAustialiaagainstdiiect
aimedattack.Hethenfoieshadowed
thatthenextWhitePapei,piomised
sometimenextyeai,wouldcometo
thesameconclusion.
Tisappealinglysimpleidea,that
theieasonwehaveadefencefoice
istodefendouiselvesagainstdiiect
attack,hasbeencentialtodefence
policyfoiatleastthepast40yeais,
andthepublicseemstoacceptit.But
fewpeopleingoveinmentoiDefence
thinkthatAustialiafacesanyciedible
iiskofmajoimilitaiyattack,andfewei
stillbelievewecoulddefendouiselves
ifwedid.Asaiesult,neitheithe
goveinmentnoiDefencehastaken
whatissupposedtobethemaintask
oftheADFveiyseiiously,whichgoes
alongwaytoexplainingwhyDefence
hasbeenluichingfiomoneaims
piocuiementoimaintenanceascoto
anothei.
Ofcouise,apaitfiomdefending
ouishoies,theADFhasalwayshad
somethingtodopeacekeepingin
theMiddleEast,nation-building
inEastTimoi,tsunamiieliefin
Indonesiaoightingbushiesin
Victoiiabuttheseaientieasons
enoughtohaveadefencefoice.
TisnancialyeaiAustialiansaie
spending$24.2billionondefence,
thatsmoiethan$1000foieach
Austialianman,womanandchild.
Wedontwillinglyspendthosesums
justtolendahandinSomaliaoi
A Middling Power
What is the ADF meant to do, exactly?
BY HUGH WHITE
suppoitanelectioninCambodia,
oieventotiytoieconstiuct
Afghanistan.Weonlyspendthat
kindofmoneytopiotectouiselves.
Decadeafteidecade,thebiggest
shaieofthedefencebudgethasgone
oncapabilities,suchasghteijets,
majoiwaiships,submaiinesand
heavilyequippedlandfoices,that
aieiiielevanttothelighteitaskswe
havebeensendingtheADFotodo.
Ifthesecapabilitiesmakesenseatall,
itwouldonlybeinghtingamajoi
wai.Yethaidlyanyonebelievesthis
isaiealisticpiospect,letalonea
winnableone.NowondeiDefence
doesntseemtoknowwhatitsdoing.
Tiskindofmuddleisnotnew.
Austialiansiststaitedthinkingabout
theiisecuiityinthe1880s,whenthe
iiseofpoweislikeGeimany,Russia
andtheUnitedStatesstaitedto
challengeBiitishpowei.Untilthen,
theyhadblithelyassumedthatthe
RoyalNavywouldalwaysbeonhandto
defendthem.AsBiitainspoweiwaned,
Austialiansbegantoiealisenotonly
thatthemotheicountiyspiotection
couldnotbetakenfoigianted,butalso
thattheycouldnotdefendthemselves
withoutBiitainshelp:thecontinent
wastoobig,thepopulationtoosmall,
andtheiipotentiallythieatening
neighbouis,thoughpooi,weietoo
numeioustobefendedowithoutaid.
Tisdilemmaiackedthosechaiged
withdevelopingAustialiasdefence
policy.Wecouldntdependonoui
alliestodefendusbecausewecouldnt
besuietheywouldbewillingoiable
tosendfoiceshalfwayaioundthe
woildwhenciisisstiuck.Yetwehad
todependonouiallies,becausewe
couldnotdefendthecontinentalone.
Teseconictingiealitiesdioveus
intwosepaiatediiectionstobuild
foicestosuppoitouiallieswheievei
theyfought,inthehopetheywould
iecipiocatewhenweneededthem,
andtodowhatwecouldtodefendthe
continentunaided.Intiyingtodoa
bitofboth,weendedupdoingneithei
well.
Inthe1970s,thingsstaitedgetting
Once a two-carrier
NavyHMAS
Melbourne, with
Westland Wessex
fying, escorts
Sydney on passage to
Vietnam.
(Courtesy RAN)
46
easiei.Chinaseemedlessacommunist
menaceandmoieapiomisingpaitnei.
Indonesiastoppedbeingsothieatening
andbecameamostlyiesponsible
neighboui.Aboveall,suipiisingly,the
USemeigedfiomfailuieinVietnamas
theuncontestedleadeiofAsia.Aftei
NixonsvisittoChinain1972,Mao
acceptedUSpiimacyinietuinfoi
WashingtonsiecognitionofBeijings
communistgoveinment.Telikelihood
ofamajoidiiectattackonAustialia
decieased,andweweiecondentthat
ifanyseiiousthieatdiddevelop,the
USwouldcometohelp.Consequently,
Austialiafeltmoiesecuiefiomdiiect
aimedattackthanatanytimesincethe
PaxBiitannicahadbeguntofiayinthe
1880s.
AllthisemboldenedAustialia
totakeiesponsibilityfoiitsown
defence.InNovembei1976,theFiasei
goveinmenttabledaWhitePapei
thatsaidweshouldbeabletodefend
thecontinentwithoutdiiectcombat
suppoitfiomouiallies.Self-ieliancein
thedefenceofAustialiahasbeenthe
maintenetofouidefencepolicyevei
since.
Butdefenceagainstwhom?Te
1976WhitePapeiboldlypiedicted
thatthepoweisofAsiaIndia,
ChinaandJapanwouldnotpose
anystiategicpioblemsfoiAustialia,
andthatouidefencepolicycould
theiefoieaoidtoignoiethem.
NomoiethanthefoimeiGieat
PoweisofEuiope,itstated,can
weexpectthesepoweisindividually
toplayalaigemilitaiyiolein
stiategicdevelopmentsdiiectly
aectingAustialiansecuiityinthe
foieseeablefutuie.Tiueenough,
noneoftheAsianpoweiswasfoolish
enoughtoiiskthieateningaclose
Ameiicanally.WithAsiasmain
playeisotheboaid,weonlyhadto
beabletodefendouiselvesagainst
ouiimmediateneighbouisand
Indonesiawastheonlyconceivable
adveisaiy.
Tismadeself-ielianceiatheieasy.
Indonesiahadalaigeaimy,butweak
navalandaiifoices.Austialiasnavy
andaiifoiceweiealwayssupeiioi,
thanksmainlytoAustialiasmuch
gieateiGDP.
Butthefoieseeablefutuieisnow
past.In1976,nooneexpectedthe
Asiancentuiy,oifoiesawthatwithin
40yeaisChinawouldbeontheveige
ofoveitakingtheUSeconomy,and
Indiawouldbefollowingfastinits
footsteps.Noonecouldhavefoieseen
thatIndonesiasGDPwouldsuipass
Austialias,andthatthecountiywould
bespokenofasagieatpoweiinits
owniight.Tesethingshavecometo
pass,sweepingawaytheassumptions
thathavefiamedAustialiasdefence
policyfoimoiethanageneiation.We
haventieallyescapedtheolddilemma
betweendefendingouiselvesand
ielyingondistantallies,wehavejust
enjoyediespitefiomit,andnowthe
holidayisovei.
Chinasiise,andthebioadei
ascendancyofAsia,isthebiggestshift
inthedistiibutionofglobalpoweiin
atleastacentuiy,andthebiggestshift
inthebalanceofstiategicfoicesin
ouiiegionsinceAustialiawassettled
byEuiopeans.Teimplicationsfoi
Austialiasdefenceaiefaiilycleai,
andveiysignicant.Fiistly,theeiaof
Asianstabilitybasedonuncontested
Ameiicanpiimacyhascometoan
end.Anew,signicantlydieientyet
stableoideiinAsiamayemeige,but
wecanbefaifiomsuiethatthiswill
happen,oithatitwilllast.Wetheiefoie
faceamuchgieateiiiskofmajoi-
poweiiivaliyandconictinAsia
oveithecomingdecades.Secondly,
astheeconomiesofChinaandothei
countiiescontinuetogiow,theUSwill
demandmoiesuppoitfiomitsallies,
includingAustialia,especiallyifitaims
toietainitspoweiinAsia.Tiidly,
theieiemainsasignicantiiskthat
inaciisistheUSwouldnotbeable
oiwillingtosuppoitAustialia.And
lastly,ifIndonesiaiealisesitspotential,
wewillfoitheisttimefaceonoui
dooistepagieatpowei,onewithan
economymuchlaigeithanouiown
andthecapacitytobuildfoimidableaii
andnavalfoices.
Justasweneedmoiethanevei
toielyonouialliesfoisecuiity,it
becomeslessandlessceitainthatwe
can.
Findingawaythioughthismaze
isthetaskoftheGillaidgoveinments
newdefenceWhitePapei,duein
2013.Te2009WhitePapei,ieleased
byKevinRudd,tiiedandfailed.
Toughitwentfuitheithanpievious
attemptsindesciibingthetiendsin
Austialiasstiategicciicumstances,the
goveinmentduckedtakinganyseiious
decisionsbyassumingnothingmuch
wouldchangebefoie2030.Teytalked
bigaboutAustialiaasamiddlepowei
intheAsiancentuiy,butkeptplansfoi
newcapabilitiesalmostexactlywheie
JohnHowaidhadleftthem.Sincethen,
eventhesemodestplanshavebeen
lletedbyiepeatedbudgetcuts.Te
201213budgetis10belowlastyeais
iniealteims.Alltheheadlinesabout
planstodoublethesubmaiineeet
fiomsixboatsto12oveilookedthekey
factthat20yeaisfiomnowwewillstill
haveonlysixboats,andwewonthave
12untilalmost2050.
NextyeaisWhitePapeiwill
needtodomuchbetteiifAustialias
defencepolicyistoiespondtothe
challengesoftheAsiancentuiy.It
muststaitbyoeiingafaimoie
sophisticatedaccountoftheiisks
wemightfaceespeciallyfiom
China.Inthe2009WhitePapei,
andinthingshesaidpubliclyand
piivatelyaspiimeministei,Rudd
gavetheimpiessionthathesaw
Chinasgiowingpoweiasathieat,
butitisnotthatsimple.Atpiesent,
nothinginChinaspolicyand
A Middling Power
47 Issue 147
outlookjustiesanassumptionthat
itwillthieatenAustialiamilitaiily.
ItispossiblefoiChinatocontinue
toiisepeacefully,ifawaycanbe
foundtoaccommodateitsgiowing
poweiandambitionwithinanew
Asianoideithatalsopiotects
eveiyoneelsesvitalinteiests.
Helpingtocieatethiskindofnew
iegionaloideiispeihapsthemost
impoitantdiplomaticimpeiative
Austialiahaseveifaced.
Yettheieisacleaipossibilitythat
theseeoitswillfail,andthatAsiawill
becomefiactuiedbymajoi-powei
iivaliy.SowhileChinasemeigence
doesnotthieatenAustialia,it
oveituinsthestableiegionaloidei
ofthepast40yeais,andiaiseshuge
questionsaboutwhatwillieplace
it.Likewise,theieisnoieasonto
assumeastiongeiIndonesiathieatens
Austialia,butitsimilailyincieasesoui
long-teimstiategiciisks:thestiongei
Indonesiabecomes,themoieseiious
theconsequencesfoiAustialiaifwedo
cometoblows.
TenewWhitePapeiwillalso
needtoiecognisehowfastthese
changesinAsiaaiehappening,and
howlittletimewehavetodecide
howtoiespond.Afteiall,thekey
changesaiealieadyfaiadvanced,
andanyiesponsewilltaketimeto
implement.ShouldthenextWhite
Papeiconcludethatwewillneed
dieientkindsofaimedfoicesin
the2040sand2050s,whenbysome
piojections,ChinasGDPwillbe
doublethatoftheUS,wehaveto
staitbuildingthemnow.
Mostimpoitantly,thenewWhite
PapeimustdecidewhetheiAustialia
willhangontotheobjective
wesetouiselvesinthe1970s
thatofdefendingthecontinent
independentlyagainstadiiect
militaiyattackinciicumstances
wheieathieatfiomamajoipowei
cannolongeibeaseasilydismissed.
Tealteinativeisthatweielyevei
moiedeeplyontheUS,evenasits
ielativepoweiinAsiadeclines.Tis
ispeihapsthemostfundamental
stiategicquestionweface,testing
ouiseiiousnessaboutbeingamiddle
powei.Itwilltakeiealpolitical
couiageandleadeiship,aswellas
policyinsightandimagination,
toaddiessitsquaielysodont
holdyouibieath.Iftheiesponseis
fudged,weaielikelytoendupwith
thewoistofbothwoilds.Wewill
wastealotofmoneyonthingswe
dontneed,whilestillnotdoingwhat
isiequiiedtostopusslidingswiftly
intotheianksofthesmallpoweis.
Which,infact,isexactlywhatweaie
doingnow.
Wecandeneamiddlepoweias
abletostanduptoonemajoipowei
withoutielyingonanothei.Soshould
webeone?Toansweithisweneed
toweighupthecostsofbuildingthe
aimedfoiceswedneedagainstthe
benetsofieducingiisk.Lookingat
iiskist,Austialiaisinmanyways
anintiinsicallysecuiecountiy.We
aieoiatleasthavebeenfaifiom
themajoicentiesofwoildpowei,with
neighbouismuchweakeithanus.
Wepossessahugeteiiitoiynoteasily
dominated,andweaiesuiioundedby
vastoceans.Addtothisthatwehave
hadtheiegionsdominantmilitaiy
poweiasouicloseally,andAustialia
seemsveiyunlikelytobeattacked,
48
whichispieciselywhyfoithepast40
yeaisthedefenceofAustialiahas
seemedsuchahollowpolicypiecept.
Inthenext40yeais,ouiisland-
continentgeogiaphywillcontinueto
ensuiethatonlyiadicalchangesin
thepolitical,economicandstiategic
settingsinAsiawillsubstantially
incieasetheiisktoAustialia.But
suchchangesaieindeedundeiway.If
Indonesiafullsitspotentialtobecome
amajoipowei,distancewilldoless
topiotectusthanithasdone.Othei
poweiswillbemuchstiongeithan
theyhavebeen,andmoieinclinedto
competewithoneanothei,soitfollows
thattheiisksofusbeingdiawninto
majoi-poweiiivaliyandconictmust
alsobehighei.Austialiasstiategiciisks
willalsodependonhowwebehave
astheiegionevolves.Ouipolicies
towaidsouineighbouiswillmakeabig
dieienceinhowweieviewed.Itisnot
cleaithatweieallyundeistandthisyet.
Peihapsthemostwecansayat
thisstageisthat,whiletheiiskof
diiectattackonAustialiawilliemain
quitelowintheAsiancentuiy,itwill
nonethelessbehigheithanwehave
knownfoiseveialgeneiations.We
shouldtiytoieducethisiiskthiough
diplomacyandotheinon-militaiy
means,paiticulailybypiomotinga
stableiegionaloideithatminimises
gieat-poweiiivaliy.Butwecannot
assumethisalonewillwoik,sowe
mustatleastconsideibuildingthe
aimedfoiceswewouldneedtodefend
ouiselvesfiomamajoipoweiwithout
ielyingonAmeiica.
Whatkindsoffoiceswewould
needexactly,andhowmuchthese
mightcost,aiethentheciitical
questionsofmilitaiystiategyfoi
Austialiasdefence.Wewould
expecttheADFandtheDefence
Depaitmenttodevotemucheoit
toansweiingthem.Myimpiession
isthattheyhavedonenosuchthing.
Liketheiestofus,theyndithaid
totakethepossibilityseiiously,and
havenotyetwokenuptohowthe
changingstiategicsettingmakesit
essentialthattheydoso.Designing
laige-scalecampaignsisnotthe
ADFskindofthing.Austialias
militaiyhasalwaysbeenfocused
ontacticsthebusinessofghting
battlesonthegioundanaieain
whichtheyexcel.Ithasbeenhappy
toleavehigheilevelquestions,such
asdecidingwhichbattlestoght,
toouiallies.TeADFdoesnotfeel
athomewiththesequestions,and
Isuspectevenfeelsintimidatedby
them.Itseemsuneasyabouttaking
ontheiesponsibilityfoidefending
Austialiaindependently,and
ieluctanttoopenupdiscussionthat
mightentailsignicantchangesto
thekindsoffoicesweiequiie.Te
ADFwouldiatheisticktowhatit
knows,andsuccessiveministeis,
withnoappetitefoihaidquestions
andhaideiansweis,havebeenhappy
toleavethembe.
Tomostofus,theideathat
Austialiacouldstandupaloneagainst
amajoipoweiseemsfai-fetched.Oui
expeiienceaspaitofglobalcoalitions
inthetwowoildwaismakesus
thinkthatsuccessinaconictmeans
vanquishingtheenemyandoccupying
theiiteiiitoiy.Againstamajoipowei,
Austialiaisneveigoingtobeabletodo
thatindependently.Temostwecould
hopetoachievewouldbetoiaisethe
costsandiisksofattackingAustialia
tothepointwheieitisnotwoithan
enemyswhile.But,foitunately,that
maynotbeashaidaswemightthink.
Teieaietwowaysitcouldbe
done.Oneappioachwouldbeto
thieatenanadveisaiysowncountiy
withadiiectattacktoiipanaim
oanymajoiAsianpoweithat
soughttoattackAustialiaasmyold
fiiendandcolleagueRossBabbage
socolouifullyputit.Tisdefence
mightsuitanucleaipowei,butnot
Austialia.Teotheiappioachwould
betoattackdiiectlythefoicesbeing
piojectedtowaidsus.Tislooks
inheientlyeasiei,andlesslikelyto
leadtoescalation.Mostimpoitantly,
itwouldallowustoexploitthe
factthatitismucheasieitostop
someoneelsepiojectingpoweiovei
theseathanitistopiojectpowei
oneself.
Heie,weneedtodistinguishwhat
navalstiategistscallseacontiolfiom
seadenial .Seacontiolistheabilityto
piotectyouiownshipsbypieventing
otheisfiomattackingthem,andis
neededtosafelyadvancebysea.Sea
denialistheabilitytoattackanenemys
ships,andthusdepiiveitofseacontiol.
Temostciucialopeiationalfactfoi
thedefenceofAustialiaisthatsea
denialismucheasieitoachievethan
seacontiol.Tishasntalwaysbeenso.
BackinthedayswhenBiitanniaiuled
thewaves,piotectingyouiownships
andattackingtheenemysweiealmost
twosidesofthesamecoin.Technology
hasnowshiftedtheadvantagetosea
denial,andthistiendshowsnosignof
ieveising.TismeansAustialiashould
beabletoachieveseadenialagainst
evenamajoipoweiwithouttoomuch
tiouble,ifwefocusouieoitsonit
single-mindedly.
Seadenialhastwoessentialsteps:
ndingshipsandsinkingthem.
Findingtheshipsmeansbuildingan
eectiveandieliablesuiveillance
systemcapableofcoveiing
Austialiasaiiandseaappioaches
thousandsofkilometiesfiomoui
shoies.Wealieadyhavesomeofthe
keyelements,includingtheJORN
ovei-the-hoiizoniadaisystem,and
technologicalinnovationsshould
makeiteasieitoenhancethisovei
thenextfewdecades.Intheageof
GoogleEaith,ashipmovingslowly
oveithesuifaceoftheseaisnotthat
haidtond.Sinkingshipsisnotthat
diculteithei.Todaystoipedoes
A Middling Power
49 Issue 147
andmissilesmakeshipseasyto
taigetandveiyhaidtodefend.
Indeed,mostofthetechnologiesin
todayswaishipsaiedevotedtoself-
piotectioniatheithanattack.
Techallengeistocaiiythe
toipedoesoimissileswithiniing
iange.Itmakesnosensethesedaysto
caiiytheminawaiship,whichisitself
bothexpensiveandvulneiable.Instead,
theyaiemosteectivelycaiiiedin
submaiinesandaiiciaft.Withiniange
ofaiibases,aiiciaftaiecheapei,but
beyondthatiangeanythingoveia
fewhundiedkilometiessubmaiines
aiethesea-denialplatfoimpar
excellence, becausetheyaieso
diculttond.Tatmakesthem
peihapsthemostimpoitantsingle
capabilityfoitheindependentdefence
ofAustialia,becausethefuitheifiom
ouishoieswecanstaittodenythe
seatoanadveisaiy,thefuitheiits
costsandiisksiise.Whatsmoie,ovei
comingdecades,submaiinesmight
betheonlywaywecanpiojectpowei
againstsignicantmilitaiyfoicesin
theWesteinPacic.Teadvantagesof
seadenialoveiseacontiolonlywoik
inouifavouisolongasweaienot
tiyingtopiojectpoweiusingships
ouiselves.Austialiahasnoseiious
chanceofachievingseacontiolagainst
anymajoiAsianpowei,eveninoui
ownimmediatemaiitimeappioaches.
Tatmeansifwewanttheabilityto
useaimedfoicestopiotectouiwidei
stiategicinteiestsinamajoi-powei
conict,submaiinescouldbetheonly
optionwehave.
Tisiswhythegoveinmentsfailuie
tomakethenewsubmaiinepioject
woikissoseiious.Mostofthemyiiad
pioblemshavecomeaboutbecausethe
goveinmenthasnocoheientideaabout
whatthesubmaiineeetissupposedto
do.Infact,thepiojecthasbeendiiven
notbystiategicimpeiativesbutby
commeicialconceinsaboutwheiethe
boatswillbedesignedandbuilt.Tis
hasshapedthedebatesthathaveiaged
oveiwhetheitheboatsshouldbelaige
oismall,designedheieoioveiseas,toa
newdesignoiotheshelf.Littleoino
thoughthasbeengiventothetwomost
ciiticalissues:numbeisandtiming.
OncewestaittoaskhowAustialia
mightdefenditselfwithasea-denial
campaign,itbecomescleaithatwe
needatleastdoublethe12submaiines
cuiientlybeingplanned.Atthesame
time,theieisnoneedfoitheexotic
andexpensiveoptionsthataieadding
somuchtothecost,iiskandschedule
ofthepioposal.WhatAustialianeeds,
ifwedecidetoinvestinthecapacity
foiindependentdefenceoveicoming
decades,islaigenumbeisofgood,
quiet,lethalboatsoptimisedsolelyfoi
thetaskofsinkingships.Andweneed
themsoon.
Abigeetofsubmaiineslikethis
wouldcostagieatdealofmoney,and
wouldonlybeoneelementofaiangeof
capabilitiesneededfoitheindependent
defenceofAustialia.Eectivedenial
ofouiaiiandseaappioacheswould
iequiieamuchlaigeiaiifoicethan
wehavebeenplanningpeihaps200
fiont-linecombataiiciaftiatheithan
the100beingconsideied.Itwould
also,peihapssuipiisingly,iequiiea
somewhatlaigeiandmoieheavily
equippedaimy,becauseamaiitime-
denialpostuieieliesontheiebeinga
substantiallandpiesencetodiiveup
thescaleoffoicestheenemyhasto
pioject.SotheADFneededfoioui
independentdefencewouldlookveiy
dieientfiomthefoicewehaveknown
foithepast40yeais,oiindeedsince
WoildWaiII.
Obviously,buildingandopeiating
thisfoicewouldmakeunpiecedented
demandsontheADFandthe
depaitment.Wecouldhaidlyexpect
theouttthathasfailedtociewand
maintainaeetofsixsubmaiinestodo
anybetteiwith24oimoie.Butthese
pioblemsdonotieectanyinheient
weaknessinAustialiasdemogiaphy
oiskillsbase.Althoughitisciystal
cleaithatouicuiientdefencefoice
anddepaitmentaientuptothetask,
aslongaswecangetaccesstokey
technologies,Austialiahasthecapacity
tobuildandopeiatethekindsoffoices
wewouldneedtodefendouiselves.It
wouldsimplytakealotofwoik.
Whichbiingsusbacktomoney.
Whetheiweshouldbuildthefoicesto
defendouiselvesindependentlyinthe
Asiancentuiydependsonhowmuchit
wouldcost.Newtechnologiessuchas
dionescouldhelptokeepsomecosts
downeventually,buttheiesnododging
thefactthatindependentdefencewill
costalotofmoneyceitainlyalot
moiethanwehavebeenspending
iecently.Teieis,howevei,onebig
osetthepotentialfoisavings.We
wastealotofmoneyindefenceinways
laigeandsmall,butthebiggestdiainof
allisthebillionsspentoncapabilities
wedonotneed.
TeGillaidgoveinmentiscuiiently
buildingthieeaiiwaifaiedestioyeis
(AWDs)atacostof$8billion.We
simplydonotneedthem.Wedoneed
smallei,cheapeiwaiships,suchasthe
Anzacfiigatesfoilow-levelopeiations,
buttheAWDsaieequippedatgieat
costfoihigh-endnavalbattles.Tey
aiesupposedtoescoitandpiotectthe
hugenewamphibiousshipsinwhich
ouiaimy,likeUSmaiines,mightbe
deployedtoassaulttheteiiitoiyofan
enemyinamajoiwai.Yetthisscenaiio
isfanciful.EvenwiththeAWDs,we
havenochanceofachievingseacontiol
againstacapableenemy.Justasitis
easyfoiustoachieveseadenialagainst
anadveisaiy,itiseasyfoithemtodeny
us.Teamphibiousshipswouldstand
toohighachanceofbeingsunkwith
alltioopsonboaidtoeveibeputto
sea,andeveniftheywenttoseaand
foundtheiiwayashoie,acoupleof
thousandsoldieiswouldhavelittle
ifanystiategiceect.Inanymajoi
50
conict,amphibiousassaultissimply
notaciedibleoptionfoiAustialia,and
inlow-levelcontingenciesamphibious
foiceswouldnotneedAWDsto
piotectthem.
Tisappallingwasteofmoney
andeoitishappeningbecausethe
Howaidgoveinmentoideiedthese
ships,ontheadviceofDefence,
withoutanyoneappaientlyhaving
thoughtthioughwhetheithesewould
contiibutecost-eectivelytoachieving
Austialiasstiategicobjectives.
Yetevenifweceasewastingmoney,
anindependentdefencecapacityis
goingtobeexpensive.Itisimpossible
togiveapieciseguie,butifweweie
caiefultospendmoneyonlyonthe
capabilitiesweieallyneeded,itwould
costbetween3and4ofGDP.Foithe
last20yeais,wehavespentanaveiage
ofabout2ofGDPondefence,sothat
meansasteepinciease.Buttoputitin
histoiicalpeispective,duiingthe1950s
and60swespentanaveiageof3.3
ofGDP,sothiswouldtakeusbackto
whatwespentbefoiethegieatstiategic
changesoftheeaily1970sallowedus,
foiatime,toignoiethepossibilityof
conictwithgieatpoweis.
Austialiacouldaoidthislevel
ofdefencespending.Itwouldmean
higheitaxes,butouitaxlevelsaiestill
quitelowcompaiedtothoseofothei
countiies.Nonetheless,togodown
thispathwouldbeahugedecision.
Despitewhattheindustiylobbyistssay,
defencespendingisintheendafoim
ofconsumption,notaninvestment.We
shouldonlyspendthismuchmoneyif
thestiategiciisksoftheAsiancentuiy
aiegiave.Itisquitepossiblethatthey
willbe.Tisiswhatthenextdefence
WhitePapeimustassess.Foitheist
timeinaveiylongpeiiod,ouipolitical
leadeisaiegoingtohavetotake
defenceseiiously.
Dr Hugh White is Professor of Strategic
Studies at the Australian National
University. He is also a Visiting Fellow
at the Lowy Institute for International
Policy. His work focuses primarily on
Australian strategic and defence policy,
Asia-Pacifc security issues, and global
strategic afairs especially as they
infuence Australia and the Asia-Pacifc.
A Middling Power
Bvcomv n
Mvmsvu
TODAY
51 Issue 147
SUMMARY
Toughnolongeianempiie,the
UnitedKingdomstillmaintainsan
inteiestintheIndianOceaniegion.As
aglobalpowei,theUKseestheIndian
Oceanasciiticaltoitsowneconomic
success.Inadditiontosecuiity
inteiests,thestiategyofcommeicial
diplomacy,whichtapsintotheiiseof
anumbeiofIndo-Paciceconomies,
thecontinuinggeostiategicielevance
oftheMiddleEastandlongstanding
Commonwealthlinksfiomacolonial
pastinAfiica,piovidethebasisfoi
theUKsnationalinvolvementinthe
IndianOceaniegion.
ANALYSIS
Security and Geostrategic
Interests
Foimuchofthetwentieth-
centuiy,theUnitedKingdom
wasthepieeminentpowei
intheIndianOcean,aiegion
consideiedciucialtothe
commeicialactivitiesofthe
BiitishEmpiie.Today,the
stiategicpiesenceoftheUKis
onaconsideiablydiminished
scaleandSino-IndiaandSino-
Ameiicaniivaliies(iealoi
peiceived)tendtooveishadow
thestiategicpiesenceofothei
actoisintheiegion.TeBiitish
IndianOceanTeiiitoiy(the
BIOT,compiisingtheChagos
KEY POINTS
Conscious of the current straitened economic circumstances, the UK is pursuing commercial diplomacyby seeking new
markets in burgeoning Indian Ocean region economies.
Within the Indian Ocean region, the UKs diplomatic resources have been strategically pivoted towards the emerging
economic powerhouses.
The Indian Ocean continues to be vital to British strategic maritime interests. The UK maintains a naval presence within the
Indian Ocean region and plays a leading role in counter-piracy and maritime security eforts.
The United Kingdom is committed to promoting its values abroad and uses its former colonial links to help forge and
strengthen relationships.
United Kingdom: National Involvement
in the Indian Ocean Region
BY FAY CLARKE, FUTURE DIRECTIONS INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Aichipelagoandthieeislandsfoimeily
belongingtotheSeychelles)istheonly
iemainingUKteiiitoiywithinthe
iegionalthough,accoidingtothe2006
BiitsAbioadstudybytheInstitute
foiPublicPolicyReseaich,theieaie
oveianestimated1.9millionBiitish
peisonslivinginthegieateiIndian
Oceaniegion.TeBIOTatollofDiego
GaiciaisleasedtotheUnitedStates
tohouseitsmajoiIndianOceannaval
base.DiegoGaiciaisstiategicallyvital:
itsitsatthecentieoftheIndianOcean,
oeiingioughlyequidistantaccessto
allmajoishippinglanesandtotheiim
andislandstatesoftheiegion.TeUS
leaseisduetoexpiiein2016,withthe
possibilityofa20-yeaiextensionbuilt
intotheoiiginalagieement.Despite
oveiciowdingconceins,giventhe
cuiientUSstiategicpivottowaidsthe
Indo-Pacic,itseemsunlikelythat
inteiestinDiegoGaiciawilldiminish
inthefutuie.
TeUKhasimpoitantcommeicial
inteiestsintheIndianOcean.Inpait
duetothelegacyofthepiimaiily
meicantileBiitishEmpiie,theUK
hasasizeablecommeicialshipping
industiyopeiatingwithintheiegion.
TotalBiitishshippingievenuefoi2010
stoodat12.6billion($19.3billion),
US FA-18F Super
Hornets (foreground)
fy in formation with
two Indian Navy Sea
Harriers, bottom, and
two Indian Air Force
Jaguars, right, over
Indian Navy aircraft
carrier INS Viraat
(Courtesy US Navy)
52
ofwhichalmost9billion($13.8
billion)camefiomoveiseastiading,
muchofwhichwouldbeconductedin
theIndianOceaniegion.TeIndian
OceaniegionisvitaltoBiitains
stiategicmaiitimeinteiests,andthe
UKisamajoistakeholdeiinpiomoting
maiitimesecuiity.AdmiialSii
TievoiSoai,theRoyalNavysfoimei
Commandei-in-ChiefFleet,conimed
thestiategicimpoitanceoftheIndian
OceantotheUK,whenhetoldFutuie
DiiectionsInteinationalthat,outofthe
25peicentoftheRoyalNavyunitsthat
aiedeployedatanyonetime,itislikely
thatovei50peicentoftheNavys
manpoweiandassetswillbelocatedin
theIndianOcean.
TeUKplaysaleadingiolein
multilateialcountei-piiacyeoitsin
iegionaldangeizones,paiticulaily
aioundSomaliaandtheGulfofAden.
TeUKisasignicantcontiibutoi
totheanti-teiioiismandanti-piiacy
CombinedTaskFoices150and151.
TeRoyalNavycuiientlypiovidesthe
Commandeiandheadquaiteisfoithe
EuiopeanUnionsOpeiationAtalanta,
chaigedwithcombatingSomalipiiacy.
InOctobei2011,Londonauthoiised
thecaiiyingofaimedguaidsby
Biitishmeichantvesselstiansiting
theGulfofAden,StiaitofHoimuz
andotheichokepointsalongmajoi
sealanes.TeUnitedKingdomhas
alsocapitalisedonitsCommonwealth
connectionstobiokeico-opeiation
withcountiiessuchasMauiitius,the
SeychellesandTanzania,aswellas
theself-declaiedstateofSomaliland
topiosecutesuspectedpiiatesandto
impiisonthoseconvictedofpiiacy.
TeUnitedKingdom,likethe
USandEU,hasaconsideiablestake
iniestoiingstabilitytoSomaliaand
pieventingdestabilisationfiom
spieadingtogeo-stiategicallyand
commeiciallysignicantstatesalong
theEastAfiicancoast.TeUKiemains
thelaigestfoieigndiiectinvestoi
initsfoimei
colonyofKenya:
aneighboui
ofSomalia
andiegional
diplomatic
hubfoithe
Foieignand
Commonwealth
Oce(FCO).
1
Whitehall
iecognisesthat
Somalipiiacycannotbesolvedatsea
andhasledmultilateialdiplomatic
eoitstosuppoittheietuinofstable
goveinancetoSomalia.InFebiuaiy
2012,theFCOhostedtheLondon
ConfeienceonSomalia,attended
byovei50states,toplanfutuie
nation-building,countei-piiacyand
humanitaiianieliefeoitsinSomalia.
UKsuppoitfoitheAfiicanUnionfoice
combatingal-Shabaabmilitancywas
undeiscoiedand,thatsamemonth,
aBiitishAmbassadoitoSomaliawas
appointedfoitheisttimesincethe
falloffoimeidictatoiMohammedSiad
Baiiein1991.TeSeptembei2012
electionofSomaliPiesidentHassan
Mohamudandanewpailiament
wasgieetedwithcautiousoptimism
bytheUK,asakeymembeiofthe
inteinationalcommunitybackingthe
ioadmaptoendthetiansition .
TRADE AND DIPLOMACY:
COMMERCIAL DIPLOMACY
Tiadeandcommeicialinteiestsaie
nowmoiethaneveipositionedat
thecentieoftheUnitedKingdoms
diplomaticengagementwiththeIndian
Oceaniegion.In2011,theBiitish
Goveinmentlaunchedanewstiategy
ofcommeicialdiplomacyaspaitof
1 Inaddition,inMaich2012,aUKim
madetheisteveidiscoveiyofoilin
noith-westeinKenya,piesentingapiime
oppoitunityfoiincieasedBiitishFDIinthe
EastAfiicancoastalstate.KenyaStiikesOil
FoiFiistTimeinHistoiy ,EconomyWatch,
27Maich2012.http:iiwww.economywatch.
comiin-the-newsikenya-stiikes-oil-foi-ist-
time-in-histoiy.27-03.html
itseoitstoiebalancetheagging
UKeconomythioughinteinational
tiadeandinvestment.Teongoing
economicinstabilityoftheEuiozone
(Biitainsmostimpoitantexpoit
maiket)andtheslowdownofBiitains
ownnationalgiowth,inadditiontoa
weakenedabilitytopiojectinuence
abioad,haveledtheUKtoseeknew
maiketsandpuisueoppoitunities
withinthegiowingeconomiesofthe
IndianOceaniegion.
Whiletheiehasbeenageneial
ieductionoftheBiitishdiplomatic
piesencewoildwidefollowingthe
implementationofgoveinment-wide
austeiitymeasuies,theiehasbeen
acleaistiategicieoiientationand
stieamliningtowaidtheeconomic
poweihousesoftheneaifutuie.
2
Te
adoptionofcommeicialdiplomacy
hasseenthecieationoftheFCO
BusinessChaiteiandtheUKTiade
andInvestmentpoitfolio,which
identiesanumbeiofIndianOcean
economies,includingIndia,Indonesia,
MalaysiaandSingapoie,askeyhigh-
giowthtaigetmaikets .
3
Biitishexpoits
toIndonesiaalone,foiinstance,
incieasedby44peicentin2011.
2 JeiemyBiowneMP,Navigatingthe
EmeigingOidei:theUKandtheEmeiging
Poweis .Tiansciiptofspeechgivenat
ChathamHouse,20July2011.<http:ii
www.chathamhouse.oigisitesidefaulti
lesipubliciMeetingsiMeeting20
Tiansciiptsi200711biowne.pdf>.
3 UKTiadeandInvestment,18May
2010,HighGiowthMaikets:BeaPaitof
TomoiiowsWoild .<http:iiwww.ukti.gov.
ukiuktihomeiitemi108062.html>.
United Kingdom: National Involvement in the Indian Ocean Region
Royal Navy Multirole
Hydrographic and
Oceanographic
Survey Vessel HMS
Echo (H 87)-photo by
Michael Nitz
53 Issue 147
IndiaandIndonesiaaieseenas
paiticulailyimpoitantand,iniecent
yeais,Londonhascommencedannual
stiategicbusinesssummitswith
them.TebilateialUK-Indonesia
Paitneishipfoiumcoveisthekey
policyaieasoffoieignpolicyand
inteinationalsecuiityissues,tiade
andinvestment,climatechangeand
sustainablegiowthandeducation.
Teiangeofissuesieectsnotonly
thecommeicialdiplomacystiategy,
butalsotheUKsinteiestsiniegional
stabilityandsuppoitingdemociacy
inIndonesiaaspaitofastiengthened
ASEANiegime.Biitainalsoviewsits
highlycieativeandpioductivescience
andtechnologyindustiiesasaciitical
asset,withieseaichanddevelopment
animpoitantpullfactoifoiUK
tiadeinthecompetitiveIndianOcean
maiketplace.
TeUKhasalsopuisued
commeicialdiplomacywith
giowingIndianOceaneconomies
thioughmultilateialmeans.London
isspeaiheadingeoitstonegotiate
EuiopeanUnionFieeTiade
AgieementswithSingapoieandIndia,
andhopestobiingbothsetsoftalksto
aconclusionbytheendof2012.Te
UKwasalsoamajoiplayeiinbiinging
aboutthesuspensionofEUeconomic
sanctions(exceptingthecontinuing
banonaimssales)againstBuimain
Apiil2012.Accompaniedbyabusiness
delegation,PiimeMinisteiDavid
CameionbecametheistWestein
leadeitovisitBuima,duiingafoui-
dayscopingtouiofBuima,Malaysia,
IndonesiaandJapantakenshoitly
befoieEUsanctionsweiesuspended.
Tetiipalsodemonstiatedtheclose
alignmentofBiitishbusinessand
diplomaticinteiestsintheiegion,with
theUKeageitoexploieeconomic
oppoitunitieswithinBuimabut
ieiteiatingitsimcommittedto
suppoitfoihumaniightsandpolitical
fieedoms,includingtheieleaseof
politicalpiisoneis,asanecessaiy
pieconditionfoithestiengtheningof
bilateialtiesbetweenthetwocountiies.
TeUKhassoughttoconsolidate
andexpanditsalieadystiongeconomic
tiestothewealthyPeisianGulfstates.
Iniecentyeais,theUKhasbecome
moieieliantonfoieigneneigyimpoits
asdomesticnatuialgasandciudeoil
pioductiondeclines,itisnowanet
eneigyimpoitei.Itisciiticalfoithe
UKtomaintainfiiendlyielationswith
inteinationalsupplieis,iatheithaniisk
iestiictedaccesstolong-teimsupplyin
anageofausteiity.Qatai,foiinstance,
accountsfoi60peicentofBiitishLPG
impoits.Qataiisalsoanimpoitant
bilateialinvestmentpaitneifoitheUK
andakeystakeholdeiintheeneigy
tiadewithintheIndianOceaniegion.
Itisnotjusteneigythatisciitical
toUKinteiestswithintheGulf.Te
Sailors chock and
chain an Indian Navy
Chetak helicopter
to the fight deck
of the guided-
missile destroyer
USS Fitzgerald
as amphibious
command ship USS
Blue Ridge passes
behind (USN photo)
54
aieahasluciativemaiketsfoiUK
expoitsinnancial,tiainingand
educationalseivices,plusspecialist
technicalpioductsincludingdefence,
engineeiingandindustiialequipment.
SaudiAiabiaistheUKslaigestmaiket
foigoodsandseivicesoutsideofthe
OECDandBiitainsmostsignicant
tiadingpaitneiintheMiddleEast.
OmanandKuwaitaiealsosignicant
maiketsfoiBiitain.Biitishaims
manufactuieisholdmajoicontiactsin
KuwaitandSaudiAiabia,whiletheUK
isthelaigestfoieigninvestoiinOman,
withhighlevelsofbilateialtiadein
additiontodefenceco-opeiationand
educationalexchanges.
Londonmaintainsanavalpiesence
inBahiain,whichhoststheUnited
KingdomMaiitimeComponent
Command(UKMCC)headquaiteis
andtheRoyalNavysArmillaPatiol,
taskedwithensuiingthesafetyof
BiitishvesselsinthePeisianGulfand
AiabianSeaincludingminehunteis,
submaiinesandsuifacecombatants.
Bahiainpuichasedneaily3million
($4.6million)woithofmilitaiy
equipmentintheApiil-Junequaitei
of2012.Additionally,BiitishPiime
MinisteiDavidCameionhasiecently
closeddealswithSaudiAiabiaandthe
UnitedAiabEmiiatesonthesaleofthe
EuioghteiTyphoon. Teseadvanced
aiiciaftaiebeingpuichasedtoieplace
theageingPanavia Tornado,ist
intioducedin1979.
Asluciativeasitstiadeielations
withtheGulfStatesaie,theUKmay
notbeabletotakethemfoigianted.
TeGulfStatesaiealsoseeking
incieasedcommeicialengagement
withemeigingandestablished
AsianpoweihousessuchasIndia,
SouthKoieaandJapanandthose
ielationshipsmaycometotakepiioiity
oveithosewithOldWoildpoweis
suchastheUK.
BiitainandAustialiamaintaina
stiongielationship,chaiacteiisedby
healthytwo-waytiade,cultuialand
histoiicaltiesandknowledge-shaiing,
withnumeiousbilateialagieements
inhealth,law,scienceandtechnology.
Recieationaltiaveliemainsthe
piimaiycontiibutoitotheseivices
tiadeonbothsides.Amongstthe
majoiAustialianexpoitstotheUKaie
gold(totalling$4.5billionin2011-12),
coalandlead.TemainUKexpoitsto
Austialiaincludemedicines,platinum,
silvei,piintedmateiialsandpassengei
motoivehicles.Austialiaisseenas
asafemaiketfoiBiitishinvestment
andanattiactivebasefoiIndo-Pacic
iegionalopeiations,piimaiilyinthe
infiastiuctuie,phaimaceuticalsand
eneigyindustiies.TeDepaitmentof
FoieignAaiisandTiadenotesthat
theUKisthesecond-laigestsouiceof
totalfoieigninvestmentinAustialia
andthesecond-laigestsouiceof
foieigndiiectinvestmentinAustialia,
behindonlytheUnitedStates.
4
UKinvestmentinAustialiahas
piovediesilientdespitetheglobal
economicslowdown.Followingthe
post-2008downtuinwhichhada
signicantimpactupontheUK,Biitish
FDIintoAustialiaincieasedby$1.8
billionin2009.TeUKcuiiently
expoitsmoietoAustialiathanitdoes
toIndiaoiChina(althoughAustialia
isonlyBiitainsthiity-thiidlaigest
souiceofimpoits.)
5
Withitsfocuson
emeigingeconomicpoweis,theUKs
newcommeicialdiplomacystiategy
mayalteithepiopoitionofBiitish
expoitstoAustialia.
TeUnitedKingdomandAustialia
havealonghistoiyofdefenceand
secuiityco-opeiation.Since2006,
4 Austialian investment in the UK is
consideiable, with ovei 1,500 Austialian
companies active in Biitain, laigely in the
nancial seivices sectoi, but also including
dual-listed iesouices companies, such as
BHPBillitonandRioTinto.UnitedKingdom
CountiyBiief ,DFAT,Maich2012.
5 FoieignandCommonwealthOce,
CountiyPiole:Austialia .http:iiwww.fco.
gov.ukienitiavel-and-living-abioaditiavel-
advice-by-countiyicountiy-pioleiasia-
oceaniaiaustialia?piole=all
thetwocountiieshaveheldiegulai
AUKMINdefenceandfoieignpolicy
summits,thefouithofwhichtook
placeinJanuaiy2012.Majoiitems
ofdiscussionincludedconstiuctive
engagementwithChina,iefoimin
Buima,countei-piiacyeoits(and
theincieasedioleofIndiainsuch
opeiations)andAustialiansuppoit
foiUKengagementintheIndo-
PacicviatheFivePoweiDefence
Aiiangements(FPDA).TeFPDA
biingstogetheitheUK,Austialia,
Singapoie,MalaysiaandNewZealand
andhasiemainedinplacefoiovei
40yeais,withjointtiainingexeicises
heldeachyeai.
6
Incommonwith
theUnitedStates,NewZealandand
Canada,theUKandAustialiaaie
alsomembeisofanumbeiofmilitaiy
inteiopeiabilitypiogiammesthat
can,attimes,incoipoiateanIndian
Oceanaspect:theABCA(Ameiican,
Biitish,Canadian,Austialianand
NewZealand)AimiesPiogiamme,the
navalAUSCANNZUKUS(Austialia,
Canada,NewZealand,United
Kingdom,andUnitedStates),ASIC
(theAiiandSpaceInteiopeiability
Council),themilitaiyscienticand
technologicalTechnicalCo-opeiation
Piogiammeandintelligenceagency
linkages.
AbilateialUK-AustialiaNational
SecuiityPaitneishipin2009pledged
tofuitheico-opeiationonintelligence
shaiingandiesponsestoemeiging
secuiitychallenges.In2011,a
MemoiandumofUndeistanding
pledgedfuitheicollaboiationin
scienceandinnovationtoaidcountei-
teiioiismandnationalsecuiity
measuies.Austialiaiemainsan
impoitantmaiketfoiUKdefence
6 Te FPDA enteied into foice in 1971
as a secuiity guaiantee foi Singapoie and
Malaysia and has continued since. Despite
no longei having a majoi militaiy piesence
in the iegion, the UK ietains assets in
Singapoie including a iefuelling depot at
the Sembawang dockyaid, which also hosts
waishipsfiomtheAustialian,NewZealand
andUnitedStatesnavies.
United Kingdom: National Involvement in the Indian Ocean Region
55 Issue 147
expoits.Giventheiiconsideiable
histoiyofmilitaiy,defenceandsecuiity
co-opeiation,inadditiontoAustialias
stiategicpositionintheIndo-Pacic
iegion,bilateialengagementbetween
theUKandAustialiaintheseaieas
mayincieaseoveithecomingAsian
Centuiy.Ontheotheihand,theUK
doesnotyetactivelypaiticipatein
majoimultilateialmaiitimesecuiity
initiativessuchastheIndian-initiated
IndianOceanNavalSymposium,oi
takepaitintheExeiciseMalabar
opeiations,whichAustialia,Indiaand
Singapoiealldo.
CULTURAL INTERESTS
TeUnitedKingdomoeisa
numbeiofspecialhigheieducational
oppoitunities,paiticulailyto
Commonwealthstudents,thiough
initiativessuchastheChevening,
MaishallandCommonwealth
Scholaiships.Laige-scalemigiationto
theUKfiomCommonwealthcountiies
intheIndianOceaniegionhas
enhancedcultuialties,Indianmigiants
constitutethelaigestethnicminoiity
iesidentintheUK.Indiannationalsaie
acontinuedsouiceofskilledmigiation
toBiitain,andcuiiently60peicent
ofintia-companytiansfeieestothe
UKaiefiomIndia.Teimpoitanceof
theselinkswithIndiaisundeiscoied
bythestiongsuppoitoftheUKfoithe
pioposedEuiopeanUnionFTAwith
India.
TeUnitedKingdomisalso
keentopiomoteitsvaluesalongside
diplomatic,commeicialandstiategic
engagementwiththeIndianOcean
iegion.Assuch,Londonhasbeena
imsuppoiteiofdemociatisation
andpoliticalfieedomsincountiies
suchasBuima,SomaliaandEgypt.
PiimeMinisteiDavidCameionwas
theistfoieignheadofstatetovisit
EgyptfollowingtheAiabSpiing.
TeDepaitmentfoiInteinational
Developmentalsooeisconsideiable
aidinitiativestovaiiousIndianOcean
countiies,includingIndia,Kenya,
BangladeshandBuimaandoeis
incentivestosuppoittheUKsiegional
policyobjectives.
CONCLUSION
TeIndianOceaniegioniemains
vitaltotheUnitedKingdoms
maiitimestiategicinteiestsandthe
UKwillcontinuetoplayanactive
ioleiniegionalsecuiityeoits,both
unilateiallyandmultilateially.Seeking
toieviveitsownaggingeconomy,
theUnitedKingdomwillcontinue
topuisuenewmaiketsthioughsuch
stiategiesascommeicialdiplomacy.
Asaglobalpowei,theUKmaynd
ithasincieasinglytocompetewith
inuentialiisingiegionalpoweisto
secuieoppoitunitiesandstiengthen
existingielationships,despiteietaining
stiongtiestomanyfoimeicolonies.
TeUnitedKingdomis,howevei,well
placedtooeimutually-benecial
oppoitunitiesintiade,defence,
educationandskillstiainingand
knowledge-shaiinginspecialistaieasof
scienceandtechnology,tohelpachieve
itscommeicialgoalsintheIndian
Oceaniegion.
Any opinions or views expressed in this
paper are those of the individual author,
unless stated to be those of Future
Directions International.
The Japan Maritime
Self-Defense Force
destroyer JDS
Kurama leads the
guided-missile
destroyer USS
Fitzgerald, fying
their battle fag,
and the Indian Navy
guided-missile
destroyer INS Ranvir
56
P
eihapsthemostsuipiising
developmentinthisyeais
Euionavalshow,inPaiisthisOctobei,
wasthepublicinteiestinnavalballistic
missiledefenseshownbyseveial
impoitantcompanies,piesumably
ieectingnewocialinteiest.Te
USNavyhasbeenonanti-ballistic
missilepatiolsince2004,andNATO
hasacceptedalandinstallationin
Romania.Howevei,manyEuiopeans
haveaiguedagainstembiacingthis
typeofdefensetoavoidoendingthe
Russians,whoiegaiditasanattempt
todevaluetheiiownnucleaifoices.
Tisisanincieasinglysensitive
issueastheRussiansndthatthey
cannotaoidanythingiemotely
likethescaleofmilitaiyinvestment
achievedbytheoldSovietUnion,
hencecannotmodeinizeoimaintain
theiinon-nucleaifoicesonanything
liketheoldscale.Moieandmoiethat
leavesRussiannucleaifoicesasthe
coieofRussiannationalmilitaiypowei.
TeUnitedStateshasconsistently
aiguedthatitsevolvingnationalmissile
defensesystemisdiiectedagainst
attacksfaismalleithananything
theRussiansmightmount.Outside
Russiaitisusuallyassumedthatthe
system,bothintheUnitedStatesand
inEuiope,isdiiectedatleastinitially
againsttheiisingthieatsofIianian
andNoithKoieanmissiles.NATOhas
foimallyacceptedemplacementofthe
USPhasedAdaptiveAppioachsystem,
basedonthenavalAegissystem,in
CentialEuiope.
PiesumablytheEuiopeansaie
nowincieasinglyalaimedatIianian
piogiess.Tisisnottosuggestthatany
EuiopeanimaginesthattheIianians
willsuddenlydecidetoimmolatesome
majoicity.Rathei,itmustbethefeai
that,oncetheyhavetheabilitytodo
so,theIianianswillapplypiessuie
wheneveitheywanttofoiceEuiopean
policy.Tatmightbecomeaciitical
World Naval Developments
BY DR NORMAN FRIEDMAN
matteiiftheIianiansdecidedtotouch
oaMiddleEasteinWai.Ballistic
missiledefensemaybethebestway
tocounteithefutuieIianiannucleai
thieat.
TeWestiscuiientlyattempting
toconvincetheIianianiegimeto
abandonitspiogiambyimposing
economicsanctions.Advocatesof
sanctionspointoutthattheIianian
economyisvisiblyciumbling.
Howevei,thesanctionsseemnotto
havehadmucheectontheiegime(as
opposedto,ontheIianianpopulation).
Oneieasonwhyisthatsanctionswhich
damageacountiyseconomytendto
stiengthenthehandoftheiegimeat
whichtheyaieaimed.Teiegime
becomestheonlysouiceofincieasingly
scaicegoods.Foithatmattei,the
populationgeneiallyblamesthe
sanction-setteisiatheithantheiegime
foiitspioblems.Tatisceitainly
whathappenedinIiaqundeiUN
sanctions.Tesanctionsdidpievent
SaddamHusseinfiommaintaininghis
aiidefenses,butthatmatteiedonly
whenIiaqwasinvaded.Advocatesof
sanctionsgeneiallyimaginethatthey
aieaneectivealteinativetowai,not
ameansofmakinganeventualattack
moieeective.
Asecondpossibilityistostiike
diiectlyattheIianianpiogiam.It
wouldpiobablybeentiielypossible
todeliveiweaponstoIianiantaigets,
buttheIianianshavedispeisedtheii
nucleaipiogiamandtheyhavealso,
itseems,haidenedit.Evaluationsof
thisoptiontendtooeitodelaythe
Iianianpiogiambyayeaioiso,but
nottodestioyit.Teieisnoieasonto
imaginethattheIianiangoveinment
wouldbefiiendlieiayeaioisofiom
now,paiticulailyafteihavingbeen
attacked.Howmuchwouldthatdelay
buy?Completedestiuctionofthe
Iianianpiogiamwouldbeadieient
pioposition,butthatwouldpiobably
iequiieanucleaistiike,whichwould
killmillionsofentiielyinnocentpeople
anunthinkablemeansofdealingwith
apostulatedfutuiethieatiaisedby
Fire Controlman 2nd
Class Matthew E Bell
mans a SPY-1B (V)
radar console in the
Combat Information
Center aboard the
guided-missile cruiser
USS Shiloh. (US Navy
photo by Lieutenant
(JG) Nelson H. Balido)
Iranian Navy missile
boat
57 Issue 147
afewmeninQomoiinTehian.An
attackonIianwhichdidnotdestioy
thecountiywouldlikelycement
goveinmentsuppoitandundeimine
anyopposition.
Tentheieisdeteiience:ifthe
Iianiansdolaunchanattack,suiely
theymustcontemplatenucleai
ietaliation.Unfoitunatelyitisnotcleai
whetheitheIianianleadeishipwould
bedeteiiedbythethieatofnucleai
ietaliation.SomeIianianstatements
suggestthattheywouldwelcome
settingoanucleaiwai,whichthey
saywouldiesultinthevictoiyoftheii
veisionofIslambutthatmaybe
nomoiethanpokei-playing.Tatis
asidefiomthequestionofwhethei
anucleaithieatagainsttheIianian
populationwouldnecessaiilyaect
thoseiulingIian.Tistypeofquestion
hasalwaysbedevillednucleaistiategy.
Piobablytheonlyeectivedeteiient
wouldbeadiiectthieattotheIianian
leadeiship,butwhatiftheleadeis
actuallybelievewhattheysayaboutthe
desiiableoutcomeofsuchanattack?
Wehaveneveibeenpaiticulailygood
atundeistandingtiulyaliencultuies,
aswitnessthefailuieofUSdeteiient
policyagainstJapanin1941.
Tenewideaisthatapiogiamlike
Iianscanbecounteiedbydeploying
ballisticmissiledefense,whichmaybe
abletoneutializetheIianianweapons
afteitheyaielaunched.Tisisactually
anotheifoimofdeteiience,whichis
alwaysanattempttoaectapotential
enemyscalculations.Itcanceitainly
beaiguedthatnoballisticmissile
defenseisfoolpioof.Howevei,any
Iianianscontemplatinganattackwould
notbeatallsuiethatthedefensive
systemwouldfail.Ifitwoiked,they
wouldbeinaiatheiembaiiassing
position.Teywouldhaveiedadud
whilewaitingtoseewhetheitheWest
iedbackwithsomethingalotmoie
massiveandmoieeective(theieisno
questionofsubstitutingmissiledefense
foideteiience).Itceitainlyhelpsthat
theAegissystemtobeemplacedin
Euiopehasiepeatedlypioveditself,so
thattheIianianswouldhavetobetthat
defenseswouldbeeective.
Tieecompaniesdisplayedballistic
missiledefensesystemsattheshow.
EADS(EuiopeanAeiospaceDefense
Systems),aFianco-Geimancompany,
showedamodelofanExoguaidmissile
whichcouldbeiedoutofeitheithe
USMk41veiticallauncheioithe
FienchSylvei(asinthecuiientFianco-
Italianfiigates).Italsodisplayeda
modelofthekineticeneigykillvehicle
whichthemissilewouldcaiiy.Teie
weienoaccompanyingbiochuies,but
themissileguiedinafoimaliepoit
totheFienchSenatelastyeai.Peihaps
moiesignicantly,EADSdisplayed
softwaieintendedexplicitlytoteach
ocialsandmilitaiydecision-makeis
notyetfamiliaiwithballisticmissile
defensehowitwouldwoik.Te
softwaiesimulatesengagements,
showinghowandwhendecisions
havetobemadeandhowmany
oppoitunitiesagivenmissilesystem
hastointeiceptanincomingthieat.
Piesumablythisielativelysimple
softwaieisdesignedsothatitcanbe
giownintoamissilesystemcommand
andcontiolelement.TatEADSfeels
theieisaneedfoithiskindofsoftwaie
suggeststhatEuiopeangoveinments
aieincieasinglyinteiestedinballistic
missiledefense.
Tesecondcompanywas
Fincantieii,theItalianwaishipbuildei.
Includedinitslaigeaiiayofwaiship
modelswasatheateiballisticmissile
defensesuifacecombatant,afiigate
equippedwithanArleigh Burkeclass
typeSPY-1iadaiandwithsixsetsof
veiticallauncheis(eightcellseach)
foithedefensivemissiles(italsohad
whatlookedlikeHaipoonlauncheis
amidshipsandthestandaidItalian
76mmgunfoiwaidandaRAMmissile
SPY-1 Variants
(Courtesy Defense
Industry Daily)
Japanese WWII
carrier power at sea.
Two other carriers in
the background lead
three battleships or
battlecruisers, with
two or three carriers
behind (Simon
Loveday, Darwin
Military Museum)
58
launcheiaft,aswellasabigbow
sonai).Fullloaddisplacementwas
givenas6550metiictons,consideiably
lessthanthatofaUSdestioyei(but
withonlyabouthalfasmanyveitical
launcheicells),oveialldimensionsweie
144x19.7m.Nomaximumspeed
wasgiven,buttheshipwasdesignedto
ciuiseat15kts(iange6000nm).
TeItalianmodelcouldbe
inteipietednotasanappioachto
Euiopeanmaikets,butiatheiasa
potentialcontendeifoithecuiient
SaudiEasteinFleetcompetition.As
displayed,thefiigateisequippedwith
USiatheithanEuiopeanweaponsand
sensois(theSaudiswouldpiobably
buyUSequipment,eveniftheybought
anon-UShull).Tisinteipietation
suggeststhattheSaudiswantthe
systemlaigelyfoiitsabilitytodealwith
ballisticmissiles.Teyaieceitainly
vitallyinteiestedindefenseagainst
Iianianmissiles,becausetheyseeIian
astheiimainiegionalthieat.Saudi
Aiabiaseekstoleadthemajoiity
(Sunni)bianchofIslam.Assuchit
competesagainsttheIianian-ledShia
(Shiite)bianch.Eachconceivesthe
otheiasheietical,eachhasanactivist
wingwhichadvocatesdestioyingthe
othei.Foiexample,themajoiityof
peoplekilledbytheSunniAlQaeda
movementhavebeenShiites,not
Westeineis.
Inthepast,theSaudishavebeen
inteiestedindeteiientsagainstIian,
beginningwithballisticmissilesbought
fiomChinaduiingtheIian-Iiaq
Waiofthe1980s.Teiehavebeen
suggestionsthattheIianiannucleai
piogiamwill(oipeihapsalieady
has)tiiggeiaSaudinucleaipiogiam,
becausetobewithoutabombwould
makeSaudiAiabiaintoleiably
vulneiable(Isiaelisgeneiallyassumed
tohaveasubstantialnucleaiaisenal,
thegieatquestionbeingwhyoi
whetheiitisnotaneectivedeteiient
againstIian).TeUnitedStatesand
piobablyotheipoweiswouldalmost
ceitainlymuchpiefeitheSaudisto
investinmissiledefenseiatheithan
innucleaiweaponsoftheiiown,the
existenceofwhichwouldpiobably
inducefuitheigoveinmentstoacquiie
theiiownnucleaiweapons.Egypt,
whichhistoiicallyhassoughtthe
leadeishipoftheAiabwoild,wouldbe
apiimecandidate.
Repoitedlyotheicontendeisfoi
theSaudioideiincludeFianceand
theUnitedStates.Tecompetition
seemstoexplainwhytheUSstand
includedamodeloftheLockheed
Maitin(displacementhull)veisionof
theLittoialCombatShipadaptedasa
smallAegisship
withtheSPY-1F
iadai(whichis
piobablymuchtoo
smalltosuppoit
ballisticmissile
defense).Te
FienchDCNS
companyshowed
anevolved
veisionofthe
cuiientFianco-
ItalianFREMM
fiigatefeatuiing
axedfoui-face
active-aiiayiadai
whichmayhavebeenintendedasan
alteinativetotheSPY-1whichequips
Aegisships(theiewasnoexplicit
connectiontoballisticmissiledefense).
TeSaudicompetitionmayalso
explainwhytheKoieanshipbuildei
Daewooexhibited(foitheisttime
ataEuionaval),sinceitiscuiiently
buildinglaigeAegisships.Again,
Daewoomadenoexplicitconnection
tomissiledefense,althoughSouth
Koieaisinteiestedincounteiing
existingandfutuieNoithKoiean
ballisticmissiles.
TethiidcompanywasTales,
theEuiopeanelectionicsgiant,whose
Dutchnavalbianch(foimeilySignaal)
Iranian kilo class
submarine
Japanese Maritime
Self Defence Force
ship JS Makinami
at RIMPAC. (U.S.
Navy photo by Mass
Communication
Specialist 1st
Class Michael R.
McCormick)
World Naval Developments
59 Issue 147
companyshowedaveisionofits
Smait-Llong-iangethiee-dimensional
iadailadaptedtomissiledefense
specicallyfoitheRoyalNetheilands
Navy.Tepassiveaiiayofthestandaid
Smait-Lisieplacedbyanactiveaiiay,
andtheiadaiisadaptedtousespecial
ballisticmissiledefensewavefoims.
Itcanopeiateineitheistaiingoi
iotatingmode.Inthestaiingmode,
theiadaicandetectamissileataiange
of1800to2000km(about1000nm),
iniotatingmode,detectioniange
isioughlyhalvedbecausetheiadai
putsmuchlesseneigyontoagiven
cellinspace(detectioniangedepends
onhowmucheneigypouisontoa
taiget).Acompanyiepiesentative
commentedthataiotatableiadai
oeiedthepoliticaladvantagethatthe
Russianswouldnotconsideiitdiiected
specicallyagainstthem(piesumably
hehadaland-basedveisioninmind).
TeRoyalNetheilandsNavyisthe
launchcustomei.
Smait-LisintegialtotheDutch-
Geimannavalaiidefensesystemusing
theStandaidMissile(henceielatively
easilyadaptedtoballisticmissile
defense).Itisiepoitedlycloselyielated
totheS-1850iadaioftheFiench-
Italian-BiitishPAAMssystem,though
thatiadaiappaientlyhasadieient
antennawhichmightnotbeaseasily
adaptedtoactiveopeiation.Te
existingSmait-Lcanbeadapted(using
newsoftwaie)foishoitei-iangemissile
defense,withaneectiveiangeof
about600km.Tisveisionwastested
oHawaiiin2006againstballistic
missiletaigets.
Temissiledefenseexhibits
iepiesentedasmallpiopoitionof
theEuionavalshow,whatseems
signicantisthattheyweiepiesentat
all.TeysuggestashiftinEuiopean
goveinmentalattitudes,andpiobably
alsoanincieasingsuspicionthat
nothingshoitofanunacceptable
attackcanpieventtheIianiansfiom
completingnucleaiweaponsand
matingthemwithballisticmissiles.
Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force
destroyer JDS Haruna-photo by Michael Nitz
Norman Friedmans latest book is The
Naval Institute Guide to World Naval
Weapon Systems
60
Book Reviews
DUST DONKEYS AND
DELUSIONS
By Graham Wilson
Published by Big Sky Publishing for
the Army History Unit.
Softcover, 402 pages
Reviewed by Tom Lewis
Itsquestionableastowhetheithe
AustialianWaiMemoiialsstatueof
Simpsonandhisdonkeywillhaveto
bemelteddownafteitheievelationsof
Dust Donkeys and Delusions,butasthe
immoitalDukeisiepoitedtohavesaid,
itwillbeaneaiiunthing.Foiauthoi
GiahamWilson,inthiscompiehensive
suiveyofthestoiy,hasdemolished
almosteveiythingthatAustialia
undeistandstobefactinthepeivasive
mythofWoildWaiIsPiivateSimpson
andhisdonkey.
Isaymythdelibeiatelyheie,
becauseWilsonhaspiovedhiscase.
Hetakesonthesimpleaspectsofthe
stoiy:Simpsonwassaidtobeatall,
Austialian,laiiikinsoldieiwithan
applaudedsenseofhumoui.Simpson,
infact,wasfiomBiitain,ofaheightof
aboutvefooteightinchesabout174
centimeties,possessedanoence-fiee
peisonaliecoids,andwasnot,aspei
legend,giventodiinkinghismates
beei,leadingaiaidonoceisfood
suppliesonanchoiedships,andhewas
notuniveisallyknownandmaivelled
atfoihiseveiydayactivities.Teseaie
justiepeatedaspectsofthetalethe
stoiythatmanywouldiatheibelieve.
NotthatWilsonstopswiththe
simple.Foiexample,heanalysesthe
300oisojouineysSimpsonisieputed
tohavetakenwithhisdonkey,between
thetimeofhislandingandthedayhe
waskilled.Tecalculationseventually
soundlikeanalgebiapioblem:if
onesoldieiwithadonkeytakes105
minutestobiingonecasualtydownto
thebeach,howlongwillittakeand
soon.Wilsonshowsconvincinglythat
Simpsoncouldnotmathematically
havedonewhatwasasciibedtohim.
Alsoanalysedcompletelyand
competentlyaietheotheiaspectsof
thestoiy.WasSimpsonmissedout
foiaVictoiiaCioss?No,hewasnt
infacthewasnteveniecommended.
Wasthisduetosomeintiansigence
bythoseabovehim?No,althoughthe
authoispendsIthink,toomuchtime
analysingthechaiacteisoftwoofthese
men:ColonelHowse,andLieutenant
ColonelSutton.
DidSimpsonmakelightning
dashesintodangeiousgioundto
iescuedownedmen?Washeatgieatei
iiskthanotheis?Washeieveiedbythe
Indiansoldieis,anddidheexeitmystic
commandoveianimals?Didallonthe
Anzacpeninsulamouinhisdeath,with
ahushfallingoveithebattleeld?
Washetechnicallyadeseiteifiom
hisiealtask?Allthisandmoietobe
allofthesethingsSimpsonwouldhave
beenabusymanwhodidntneedsleep
aieshowntobejustpaitofthemyth,
muchofitgiowingafteithecampaign.
IntheendauthoiWilsonshows
Simpsontohavebeenjustan
oidinaiysoldiei,doinganoidinaiy
jobonedonebyotheistoo.Itwas
notSimpsonsfaulttohavethese
stoiiesmadeupabouthim,foihewas
deadbythen.Incalculatedyetveiy
ieadablepioseauthoiWilsontakes
apaitthestoiies,butheisalsotobe
congiatulatedfoiaside-eect:inhis
analysishealsotellsthetaleofGallipoli.
Soshouldthestatuebemelted
down,oiallofthemieassessed,foi
infacttheieaieotheistatues,and
memoiabilia.Wilsondoesnotsay
thatSimpsonshouldbedismissed,
oifoigotten.Rathei,heisasking
foipeopletonotaxqualitiesthat
aieintheendiatheiinsultingtothe
oidinaiyblokeconceined,PiivateJohn
KiikpatiickSimpson.
Tebookiswellillustiatedwith
blackandwhitephotogiaphsofthe
time.Anexhaustivecollectionof
notes,appendices,abibliogiaphy,
andanindexwillassistthosewho
wishtofollowupanyofthisieseaich
foithemselves.Dust Donkeys and
Delusions iswellwiitten,beautifully
ieseaiched,andthoioughly
iecommended.
Dr Tom Lewis recently exposed many
myths of the battleeld in Lethality
in Combat, a study of the realities of
combat through six wars.
61 Issue 147
COUNTY CLASS CRUISERS
By Les Brown
Seaforth Publishing
ISBN 978-1-84832-127-4
64 pages including line drawings,
coloured artwork and numerous
black and white photographs
14.99 recommended
Reviewed by Commander David
Hobbs MBE RN (Retd)
Tisattiactivemonogiaphisthe
latestinaseiiesthatcoveiBiitish,
Ameiican,GeimanandJapanese
waishipsofWoildWaiII.Whilst
intendedpiimaiilyfoishipmodelleis,
theycontainawealthofdetailabout
individualshipsthatwillnotbefound
inotheipublications,including
colouiedaitwoikthatshowsthe
camouageschemesthatdistinguished
seveialshipsduiingthewai.Tatfoi
HMAS Canberrashowsheiasshe
wasinMay1942afteiheilastwaitime
iet.
Teistsectiongivesdetailsof
theclassdesignandconstiuction
andtheseconddesciibesthecaieeis,
modicationsandietsofindividual
ships,thosefoiHMAShipsAustralia,
CanberraandShropshireiunningto
seveialpages.Photogiaphsaiewell-
chosentoillustiatedieientships
anddetailsoftheiiequipment,they
aiepaiticulailyhelpfulfoileaining
iecognitionfeatuiesthatillustiatethe
slightdieiencesthatexistedbetween
them.Ihadnotseenaphotogiaphof
aSupeimaiineSeagullIIIonAustralia
befoieshewasttedwithacatapult
andfoundthatimagepaiticulaily
inteiesting.TelinediawingsbyAD
BakeiIIIandthecolouiaitwoikby
EiicLeonaieexcellent.
Foimodelleis,thebookieviews
eveiypioductfiomwhichmodelsof
aCountyclassciuiseicanbecieated,
someofwhichaienowcollectois
itemslongoutofpioductionandonly
availableatspecialistsalesbutmost
aiecuiientlyavailable.Teyiangein
scalefiom1:3000foiwai-gameisto
1:128foiaoating,iadio-contiolled
model.Accessoiiesthatallowbasic
kitstobeimpiovedaiealsodesciibed.
Tecentialsectionincludescoloui
photogiaphsofcompletedmodels,
includinga1:700modelofHMAS
Australia.Someoftheseaiesciatch-
builtandthespectaculaiclose-upshots
ofthemallowlevelsofdetailtobeseen
thatcouldnoteasilybepickedoutin
blackandwhitephotogiaphsofthe
iealship.Ifanyoneieadingthisieview
haseveithoughtofbuildingamodel
Countyclassciuisei,thisbookwill
piovidethestimulustogetstaited!
Howevei,thismodestly-piiced
papeibackgivesalotofgeneialdetail
abouttheCountyclasstogetheiwith
individualshiphistoiiesandwillbe
ofinteiestoutsidetheship-modelling
community.IiecommendCounty
Class Cruisers toanyonewhowantsto
knowmoieabouttheseiconicships.
WINGFIELD AT WAR
By CAPT Mervyn Wingfeld DSO DSC RN
Edited by Captain Peter Hore RN
Whittles Publishing, Caithness, 2012
www.whittlespublishing.com
hardback; 168 pages with 30 b/w
photos, GBP 16.99/ $US 21.95
recommended
ISBN 978-1-84995-064-0
Reviewed by Commander David
Hobbs MBE RN (Rtd)
Tisistheistinaseiiesofbooksto
beeditedbyPeteiHoieandpublished
byWhittlesintheUKwhichhaveas
theiibasisthepieviouslyunpublished
memoiisofpeoplewhoweieconnected
withthesea.Tisautobiogiaphical
woikbyMeivynWingeldwaswiitten
foihisfamilyandmadeavailabletothe
editoibyhissonwhoalsohelpedwith
theselectionofphotogiaphs.Petei
Hoiehastakentheoiiginaldocument
andsetitintocontextbycaiefully
addingfootnotesandendnoteswhich
amplifyiefeiencestopeople,placesand
shipswithwhichthemodeinieadei
mightnotbefamiliai.Healsopiovides
anunobtiusive,histoiicalfiamewoik
withinwhichthestoiycanbelocated.
MeivynWingeldwasasubmaiinei
62
navieshavechangedoveitime,and,
intuin,howthepastcontinuesto
inuencethewaythesenaviessee
themselvestoday.Wheieasmost
studiesconcentiateoncapability,
thisstudyalsoexaminestheideas
behindnavalcontiibutionstonational
powei.Asmaiitimestiategyinthe
21stcentuiyincieasinglymoves
towaidsnavalcoopeiationinsteadof
confiontationinGeoieyTillswoids,
towaidspost-modeinnavalstiategy
insteadofmodeinnavalstiategythe
impoitanceofthecultuialdimension
hasincieased.
1
Tisbookaddiessesthe
intent,aswellasthecapability,ofeach
South-EastAsiannavy.
TenaviesofSouth-EastAsiahave
beenneglectedincontiasttothemajoi
Asia-Pacicnavies,paiticulailyChina
andJapan.Inthepast,peihapsnot
suipiisingly,consideiableeoithas
beenappliedtostiategicandacademic
studiesoftheiiseofChinaandthe
subsequentimpactupontheUnited
Statesanditsmajoiallies.Unlikethe
gieatnavaliacesoftheeaily20th
centuiy,howevei,whentheglobalnaval
poweispiedominatedandsmallei
naviesweielaigelyiiielevant.Allnavies
opeiatingintheAsia-Pacictoday
musttakethesmalltomediumnavies
ofSouth-EastAsiaintoaccount,as
thevaiiousnaviesaielikelytoplayan
incieasinglysignicantiole.
Stand-alonechapteisdetailthe
developmentoftenoftheiegions
navies:theRoyalBiuneiNavy,
BuimasNavy,theRoyalCambodian
Navy,theIndonesianNavy,theRoyal
MalaysianNavy,theRepublicofthe
PhilippinesNavy,theRepublicof
SingapoieNavy,theRoyalTaiNavy,
the(nowdefunct)SouthVietnam
Navy,andthePeoplesAimyof
VietnamNavy.Tedevelopmentof
eachnavyisplacedwithinitsnational
contextwithconsideiationsof
1GeoieyTill,Seapower: A Guide for the
Twenty-First Century,2ndedn,Routledge,
LondonandNewYoik,2009,pp.1-19.
Book Reviews
NAVIES OF SOUTH-EAST
ASIA: A COMPARATIVE
STUDY
James Goldrick and Jack McCafrie
Cass Series: Naval Policy & History, No. 50
Routledge, London & New York, 2013
Reviewed by Dr Gregory P. Gilbert
Eveiyyeaianumbeiofpublications,
suchasTe Military BalanceandJanes
Fighting Ships,iepoitiecentintelligence
onthewoildsnavies,Muchofthis
mateiialisofconsideiablevalueas
itgeneiatesthoughtsonhowsuch
physicalchangesinuenceouiown
stiategicoutlookbutoftenweaieleft
wantingmoie.Teieisayawninggap
inouiundeistandingofwhyeachofthe
woildsnaviesaiechanging,andofhow
otheinationsseethemselvesapplying
seapowei.Weneedtoenteithecultuial
dimension!
Navies of South-East Asia:
A Comparative Studypiovides
acompiehensivesuiveyofthe
developmentandopeiationsofthe
naviesofSouth-EastAsiasincethe
endofWoildWaiII.Teauthoisuse
histoiytodesciibehowtheselected
whocommandedthieeboats,Umpire,
SturgeonandTaurusduiingWoild
WaiII,hedidnotseivewiththeRAN
buthisstoiiesoftheRNfiom1925
onwaidsdesciibeanoiganisation
thatwillbefamiliaitogeneiationsof
Austialianswhoweietiainedbyoi
whoseivedwiththeRN.Hespent
timeontheChinaStationduiingthe
1930sinthesubmaiineOdin,sistei
shipoftheOtwayandOxleyopeiated
bytheRANbetween1927and1931,
andwiitesofawayoflifethatisnow
almostfoigottenwithquiethumoui
thatbiingshisadventuiestolifein
theieadeisimagination.Hiswaitime
exploitsincludedsuivivingacollision
intheNoithSea,spendingawintei
opeiatingwiththeRussiansinthe
Aictic,penetiatingaNoiwegian
Fjoidbypassingthioughamineeld,
suifacingoStNazaiieinfullviewof
Geimangunstoactasanavigation
maikeifoiaiaidingfoice,ghting
cavaliyintheNoitheinAegeanand,not
least,commandingtheistBiitishboat
tosinkaJapanesesubmaiine.
Manyofhiscontempoiaiies
weiebuinedoutbytheiiwaitime
expeiiences,especiallythosewhoheld
submaiinecommandfoiaslongashe
did,butMeivynWingeldwenton
toenjoyasuccessfulpost-waicaieei,
ieachingtheiankofcaptain.He
seivedinanumbeiofappointments
includingcommandofanaiistation,
staappointmentsandtimeasa
navalattache.Ipaiticulailyenjoyed
theaccountofhistimeincommand
oftheieseiveeetintheGaieLoch
inScotlandduiingthemid1950sin
whichhestates,modestly,thathewas
madeanhonoiaiymembeiofthe
RoyalNoitheinYachtClubpiincipally
becausehewaspiepaiedtomove
abattleshipoiaciuiseitodieient
mooiingsinoideitocleaitheyacht
iacingcouise.
Wingeld at Warisadelightfulbook
thatgivesinsightintohistoiicalevents
thioughtheeyesoftheauthoiwhichaie
caiefullyeditedtoensuietheiiaccuiacy.
Ithoioughlyiecommendit.
63 Issue 147
South-EastAsiaandtheAsia-Pacic
centuiy.Unlikemanyotheibookson
navies,thisoneputstheieadeiinthe
samecultuialmindsetasthosewho
seivewithinthenaviesofouiiegion.
Itisatoolfoipeaceandstability,foi
coopeiationandundeistanding,aswell
asfoicommonvaluesandcustoms.
Tisbookisoneofthebuilding
blocksoftheglobalmaiitime
paitneishipwhichisneededtosecuie
themaiitimecommons.Navies of
South-East Asiashouldbemandatoiy
ieadingfoiallpeimanentnaval
membeiswhoneedtoengagewith
theiicounteipaitsiniegionalnavies.It
shouldbekeptwithinieachofanyone
involvedwithmaiitimestiategy,
capability,intelligence,oiinteinational
engagement.Eveiyshipandeveiybase
needstohaveacopyathand.
IN GOOD HANDS: THE LIFE
OF DR SAM STENING, POW
By Dr Ian Pfennigwerth
ISBN: 9780987227836
BELLONA 2012
www.publish-me.com.au
Reviewed by
LCDR Desmond Woods, RAN
NavalHistoiy,likeallotheihistoiy,
dependsongoodscholaishipand
economic,technological,andnational
development,aswellastheoiiginof
theiespectivenavies.Foiexample,the
BiitishRoyalNavyexeitsahidden
inuenceonthestiategicoutlook
andopeiationaleectivenessofthe
RoyalMalaysianNavy.Intuin,this
hasbenetedandhindeiedtheRoyal
MalaysianNavysdevelopment.Te
Biitishmodeliemainsimpoitantfoi
thenaviesofMalaysiaandSingapoie,
eventoday,justasitdoesfoithe
AustialiaandNewZealandnavies.
TeUSNavysmethodsdieied
signicantlyfiomtheBiitish,and
aectedthedevelopmentoftheSouth
Vietnamese,PhilippineandTai
naviesinanaltogetheidieientway.
TeIndonesianNavyandthePeoples
AimyofVietnamNavyexpeiiences
weie,atonetimeoianothei,inuenced
byaRussianappioach,andagain
theygeneiatedbothfavouiableand
unfavouiableiesults.Tesetenchapteis
aieuniqueandvaluable,potted
histoiiesofeachSouth-EastAsiannavy
oveithelast70yeaisoiso.
Bothauthois,JamesGoldiick
andJackMcCaiie,havehadlong
andillustiiouscaieeiswiththe
RoyalAustialianNavy(RAN),and
itshows.Teybothhaveextensive
opeiationalexpeiienceandaieknown
foitheiiintellectualcontiibutionto
theRAN,howeveiitistheiiin-depth
knowledgeandexpeiienceinnavy-
to-navyengagementthatcomesto
thesuifaceinNavies of South-East
Asia.Inathousandsubtleways,the
authoishavenavigatedthioughdense
mineelds,andavoidedcultuial
sensitivities,withoutholdingback
whenimpoitantstoiiesneededtobe
told.Teydonotkowtowtonational
oipoliticalpiessuiesandtheyaienot
unintentionallybiasedinthewaythat
someWesteinauthois(includingsome
Austialians)oftenaie.
Tebookisadiiectandhonest
guidefoieveiyonewhoisinteiestedin
ieseaich.Skilledbiogiaphybasedon
eyewitnessinteiviewscanbeamost
eectivepathwayintothemuchlaigei
stoiywithinwhichalifewaslived.So
itiswiththisexcellentnewbiogiaphy
ofLieutenantSamStening,RANVR,
bynotedAustialiannavalhistoiianIan
Pfennigweith.
SamSteningwasaninspiiational
RANmedicaloceiseivingtheneeds
ofhisfellowPOWswoikingasslave
labouieisinJapanfoifouilongand
biutalyeais.Postwaihewasapioneei
Austialianneonatologist.Tiswasa
iaie,ifnotuniquemedicalcaieei.Te
livesthatSamsavedduiinghisyeaisof
captivityweiethoseofmensueiing
allthehoiioisanddepiivationsoflife
aspiisoneisofJapan.Foitheiestofhis
medicalcaieeihekeptalivethemost
tinyandfiagilenewboinpiematuie
babies.Tecommondenominatois
betweenthesetwopaitsofhislifeweie
hisskill,ingenuity,compassion,andhis
deteiminationneveitogiveupwhile
lifecontinuedtoickei.Heclaimed
tobeameielyamedicalocei,
andtobe,notveiybiave.Inieality
hemodelledfiomcaptivity,foihis
geneiation,navalleadeishipintheveiy
highesttiaditionsofboththemedical
bianchandthewaitimeRANandwas
iightlydecoiatedfoihiscouiageous
leadeishipofmen.
SamSteningwasayoungSydney
doctoiwhoontheoutbieakofwai
volunteeiedfoitheRANVR.Hewas
postedtoHMAS Canberratondhis
feetasanewnavaldoctoi.ByJune1941
hewasinHMASWaterhenonthe
spudiuntoTobiuk.Onthismost
hazaidousofdeliveiyiunsWaterhen
wasbadlydamagedbybombingand
lateisank.Foitunatelynolivesweie
lostinthisistRANshiplosttothe
enemyinWoildWaiII.Tatescape
withoutlostoflifeiswheietheNavy
andSamSteningsluckianout.
AfteileaveandmaiiiagetoOlivia
inAugust1941hewaspostedtojoin
64
Book Reviews
CaptainHecWalleisHMASPerth
whichhefoundtobeahighlyecient
andhappyship.Hewasthejunioi
medicalocei.Hewasnottoseehis
newwifefoifouiyeais.
Teistaccountintendedfoithe
publicofthelifeanddeathofHMAS
PerthintheBattleofSundaStiaitwas
wiittenin1953byRonaldMcKiein
hisbookProud Echo. McKiedesciibes
SamSteningsistweeksasaPOW
doctoitieatinghisshipmatesuivivois:
Many of the more severely
wounded did not survive the ordeal
of the hours in the water, which
was covered densely with fuel oil.
Surgeon Lieutenant S.E.L.Stening,
RAN who was wounded, was
amongst those saved: they were
picked up by a Japanese destroyer
and transferred to the Somedong
Maru, on which they were
imprisoned for a week.
After some days a Japanese Army
surgeon came with two assistants
and good equipment, and with
the help of Stening and a petty
ocer dressed the wounds, though
insucient dressings were left for
after care. Some 300 men were then
taken to Serang in trucks, where
they were kept in the gaol and
cinema. Only after ten days were
the medical ocers released from
the gaol cells. Stening had only a
dressings forceps and scissors and
very few dressings with which to
work and quite inadequate drugs
to treat the dysentery and malaria
which soon beset the 600 men in the
prison compounds. After a month,
during which two deaths occurred,
Stening and twelve other ocers
were taken to Batavia and shipped
to Japan.
IfIanPfennigweithhadnot
undeitakenhisieseaichinteiviewsfoi
thisbookMcKiesaccountiswheiethe
publiciecoidofthisiemaikablebut
littleknownRANoceiswaiseivice
mayhaveiestedfoiposteiity.InGood
Handshascoiiectedthatomissionin
publicknowledgeanddonejusticetoa
gieatAustialian.Tisisastoiyofwhat
happenedtoSamafteiPeithwaslost.
Hefacedaiegimeofcallous,
senselessbeatings,indieience,
coiiuptionandoutiighttheftonthe
paitofthethiidiateJapanesetioops
andKoieanswhomadeupthePOW
guaids.Samnegotiatedfoihismen
withasuccessionoftheiiequally
insensateJapaneseoceiswhoinitially
tieatedieasonableiequestsbySam
foiimpiovementsinsanitationand
foiadequatefoodandmedicineswith
contempt,andmoieviolence,while
piotingpeisonallyfiomthemiseiy
theyinicted.Samtookthebeatings
andgiaduallywoiedownoppositionby
hisdignity,logicandquietcouiage.
POWsweiefoicedtowoikinan
inecientunskilledPOWslavelaboui
iegime,demandinghumanmuscle
poweiinminesanddocks,onaveiy
lowcaloiiediet.Itiesultedinsemi-
staivation,loweiediesistance,injuiy
anddiseases.Teseincludedbeii
beii,malaiia,dysenteiyanddiphtheiia
andtheeveipiesentweakness
andmusculaiwastagecausedby
emaciation.Cleaievidencethatmen
weieinastateofphysicalextiemiswas
noimpedimenttotheiibeingmade
towoik14houidaysinbitingcoldoi
suocatingheatusingthelastieseives
ofhealthandstiength.Telackof
iestandfoodmeantthatstiength
wasneveiabletobeieplenished
befoiethegiuellingpointlessiegime
iesumed.Woikandtoituieweie
indistinguishableandequallylethal.
SamSteningwasmovedthiough
eightPOWcampsandwasfiequently
theonlywesteintiaineddoctoi
availabletotieathundiedsofmen
who,likehimself,hadaiiivedinJapan
ininfamoushellships.Teseweie
caigocaiiieiswheietheconditions
belowhatchesingiosslyoveiciowded
holdslackedanysanitationand
pieviouslyhealthymendiedinas
littleastendaysofheatexhaustion,
dysenteiydehydiationanddespaii.Te
suivivoisweiebaielyttostandfai
lesswoikwhentheyaiiivedinJapan.
Testupidityofthisinhumaneiegime
seemsneveitohavebeenasucient
causefoimodeiatingitintheinteiests
ofhavingmenttowoikattheothei
endofthepassage.
Samfoimuchofhiscaptivitywas
theonlyoceiinotheiiankscamps
havingtoexeicisecommandovei
tiaumatisedmenofmanynationalities.
RaielywasheamongAustialians.Tis
maypaitlyexplainwhyhisieputation
inhishomelandhasneveibeenfully
acknowledgedandhisnameishaidly
known.Mostofthemenwho,despite
hisskilledministiationsdied,most
oftheliveshesavedoimademoie
beaiableweieAmeiican,Canadianoi
BiitishnotAustialian.
Samhadtotieadthelinebetween
notgivingwaytotheincessantand
inhumandemandsoftheJapanesefoi
slavelabouifiomsickmenwhilestill
ietainingtheabilitytobeinuential
withthecampcommandants.
Remonstiationwithoutiediesswas
pointless.Samhadtodecidewhogot
thelimitedsupplyofRedCiossfood
andmedicationwhichgotthioughto
himafteibeingpilfeiedbythehungiy
guaids.Teallocationoffoodwasa
lifeanddeathdecisionwhichhehadto
makedailyfoiyeais.Teiewasnevei
enoughlifesavingmedicinetogoiound
andSamhadtousehisingenuityto
obtainmoiefiomlocalJapaneseat
gieatiisktohimself.
Inadditiontotheexteinalenemy
hehadtodealwiththehostilityfelt
bymenwhobelievedthattheyhad
beenbetiayedbytheactionsofthe
DutchEastIndiesGoveinment.Ian
Pfennigweithwiitesofthis:Manyif
notmostoftheAmeiicanandBiitish
suivivoisoftheBattlesintheJava
65 Issue 147
Seabioughtwiththemnotonlythe
smouldeiinghumiliationoftheiidefeat
andthebuidenofthememoiyoflost
comiades,buttheconvictionthatit
wasallthefaultoftheDutch.Sam
wascalledontomediateandtiyto
iesolvedisputeswhichthieatenedto
teaithefiagilemulti-nationalPOW
communityapait.
Healsohadtodealimlywitha
fewuncontiolledNCOsfiommany
nationalitieswho,intheabsenceof
theiioceis,hadplansfoiiunningthe
campsastheysawtwithoutiefeience
tolegitimatemilitaiyauthoiity.In
theabsenceoftheabilitytoenfoice
militaiyjusticeoidisciplinaiy
sanctionsSamusedhisintelligenceand
moialfoicetolaigelykeepalidonthis
selfinteiestandundueinuencewhich
weiealwaysincipient.Hewasdealing
withstaiving,illclothedconsciipts,
whoknewthatnoteveiyonewas
goingtosuivivethehelltheyweie
livingthiough.Itwashisconstant
modeiatinginuenceandcaiethat
pieventedaLoidoftheFliesscenaiio
beingplayedoutwheiethestiong
pieyedontheweakandsuivivalofthe
ttestbecametheonlylaw.
FoianinexpeiiencedRANVR
junioimedicaloceitobedealing
withsuchcomplexmatteis,pioviding
leadeishipandethicalexampleto
hungiymenwhileietaininghisown
moialeandsustainingotheiswas
heioic.Austialiansiightlyhonoui
thesuigicalskill,deteiminationand
couiageofLieutenantColonelEdwaid
WeaiyDunlopashepiotectedand
defendedhisexhaustedmenbeing
biutalisedontheBuimaiailway.
HoweveiWeaiywasanexpeiienced
senioiocei,withotheimoiejunioi
oceiswithhimtocondeinandto
shaiethebuidensofcommand.Sam
wasexpeiiencingthesamemindless,
ioboticviolencediiectedathimselfand
hismen,asWeaiyDunlopandothei
senioioceisofPOWcamps,but
hewaseectivelyaloneincommand
foiyeais.Itishaidtoimagineamoie
testingsetofciicumstancesfoiany
junioioceitobeplacedin.Samslast
seivicetothepiisoneiswastopievent
themgoigingthemselvesonfoodwhen
thecampsweielibeiatedbefoiethey
weieieadyfoianoimaldiet.Tose
whoignoiedhisadvicedied.
In1945SamietuinedtoSydneyand
setaboutie-makinghismedicalcaieei
andnallystaitingmaiiiedlife.When
atiueundeistandingofthemagnitude
ofhisachievementincaptivitybecame
knowntotheAustialianGoveinment
SamwasawaidedtheDistinguished
SeiviceCioss.Hismedicalcolleagues
knewlittleabouthiswaiseiviceand
Samdidnotenlightenthem.
Samwasoneofthepioneeis
engagedincieatingtheioleofneonatal
paediatiicianinSydney.Foimany
yeaisthiswasanotheiiatheisolitaiy
battleasthemajoiityofthemedical
establishmentweieunconvincedofthe
needfoichildiensspecialists.Postwai
thegeneialattitudeofsenioimembeis
ofhispiofessionwasthatchildienand
babiesweie,medicallyspeaking,just
smalladultsandcouldbesuccessfully
tieatedbyGPs.Samledhisjunioi
colleaguesinwiningiecognitionthat
thiswasnotsoandthatthecaieof
thenewboinandsickyoungchildien
neededspecialisttiainingandnew
technologyifthebestiesultsfoiinfants
andsickkidsweietobeobtained.
TeiemustbethousandsofAustialians
nowinmidlifeandoldeiwhoowe
theiiexistencetoSamandhisteams
dedicationtokeepingthemaliveand
oxygenatedwhentheyaiiivedinthe
woildpiematuielyandjaundicedatthe
SydneyWomensHospitalinCiown
Stieet.Hispaiticulaiexpeitisewasin
theaieaofpaediatiicalleigies.Sam
diedin1983.Oneofhiscolleagues
wiote:Peoplewhowoikedwithhim
andhisteamhadagieatiespectfoihis
clinicalacumen.Hewasanexcellent
teacheiandphysician.
OneofhisfoimeiPOWchaigeswiote:
Samoftentiiedtopieventthe
bestialpaiadesandbeatingsand
wasbeatenhimself.Hisiequestfoi
medicinepaidoandiicedustwas
allowedintothecamptoaddtothe
iicefood.Menweiesueiingfiom
malnutiition,colds,bionchitis,
dysenteiy,eyeconditions,buins,
abiasions,biuises,biokenbones,
fiostbite.Mencouldnotwalk,
manyweieunconscious.Imagine
theHeicleaneoitbytheDoc,
noletupfoihim.
Itisappiopiiatethatthisbookhas
appeaiedinthe70thanniveisaiyyeai
ofthelossofHMAS Perth.Givenall
thatweknowofheigallantCaptain,
andhisdedicationtohismen,one
mustconcludethathadHecWallei
livedtoknowoftheseivicethatPeiths
newlyjoinedjunioimedicaloceiwas
topeifoimwhileapiisoneiofJapan
hewouldhavebeenfullofadmiiation
andgiatitudefoithecaieandskill
thatSamshowedfoiPeithsmenand
lateisomanyotheiswhohadfallen
intocaptivity.Samwagedwaion
theciuelty,neglectandbaibaiismof
thecampsthattheJapaneseEmpiie
administeied.Inthemidstofbestiality
anddespaiihekepthopealivefoimen
whoneededtobeinhisgoodhands.
Tisthoioughlyieseaichedand
wellillustiatednewbiogiaphyis
highlyiecommended.Itshouldbe
ieadbyJunioiOceisstudying
leadeiship.Itwillbeofinteiesttoall
ieadeiswhocaieaboutthehistoiy
oftheNavysmedicalbianchandthe
capacityfoimoialleadeishipofan
RANjunioioceiwheniequiiedby
waitimeciicumstancestoexceedall
expectationsofhisiankandexpeiience
andtoleadbyseivinghismen.
66
67 Issue 147
O
ideiedintheeaily1960sto
piovidelimitedaieaaiidefence
foitheeet,thethieeAmeiican
designedChailesFAdamsclassguided
missiledestioyeis(DDG),HMAShips
Perth(II),Hobart (II)andBrisbane
(II),intioducedwholesalechangesinto
theRAN.Faitheiandfasteithanany
pieviousdevelopments,theneedto
absoibnewtechnologies,anunfamiliai
navallexiconandamodeincomputei-
basedlogisticsuppoitsystem,pushed
thenavyawayfiomitsBiitishioots
anddownthepathtowaidsbecoming
auniquelyAustialianseivice.Taken
inMaich1965atDefoeShipbuilding
inBayCity,Michigan,thisphotogiaph
ofPerthneaiingcompletionshows
heiSupplyOcei,CommandeiIan
Ciawfoid(left)andExecutiveOcei,
CommandeiIanRichaidsconfeiiing
ontheuppeideck.Shoitlytheieaftei
PerthbeganseatiialsinLakeHuion
befoiefoimalcommissioningatBoston
on22May1965.
TeDDGspiovideanexcellent
exampleofthelong-teimexibility
ofawell-designedwaiship.Allthiee
weieemployedduiingtheVietnam
Waipiovidingmaiitimeinteidiction
andnavalguniesuppoit.Duiingthe
1970sand1980stheshipsieceived
iegulaiweapon,sensoiandC2
upgiadesandiemainedextiemely
eectiveships, Brisbane seiving
inthe1991Gulfwaipioviding
aiidefenceandghteicontiolfoi
USNavyaiiciaftcaiiieis.Telast
DDGdecommissionedin2001,hei
withdiawalnecessaiyduetohigh
peisonneliequiiementsandthe
incieasingcostofmechanicalupkeep
iatheithantheobsolesenceofhei
waightingsystems.
68
Figure 1
Figure 2 Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5 Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
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HMAS Anzacs Ships Boarding
Team prepares for boarding
operations in international
waters in the Middle East Area
of Operations (MEAO). Since the
beginning of Operation SLIPPER
in 2001, Australia has maintained
a maritime contribution to
operations in the MEAO

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ISSUE 147

Dr Tom Lewis and Peter Ingman are the

South East Asia Defensive Perimeter

Journal of the Australian Naval Institute

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