Gordon Flake: Canberra story goes to heart of our enduring US alliance

Australians understandably have questions about the AUKUS defence pact with the United States and United Kingdom. One of the thorniest is whether the US will remain committed to the decades-long partnership, in light of many potential domestic distractions. An event on Sydney Harbour last week convinced me that our alliance with Washington can indeed go the distance.

I was fortunate enough to attend the commissioning in Sydney last week of the newest addition to the US Navy, the USS Canberra littoral combat ship. A highly symbolic ceremony confirmed the deep and enduring links between the Australian and American defence forces, economies, and most importantly, peoples. WA has played a big role in sustaining these ties. And our importance will only continue to grow.

The USS Canberra was the first ever American warship to be commissioned outside the US. It was also the second US vessel to bear that name. The first entered service in 1943 at the height of World War II. It was named in honour of the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra, which was lost in 1942 during the Battle of Savo Island in the Solomon Islands.

Two other Australian ships have since borne the name Canberra. The latest of these sat alongside its new US namesake last week. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles noted the two vessels were “inextricably linked, inextricably intertwined, and genuinely siblings”.

Also speaking in Sydney, US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy noted her own family’s rich history with the Australian navy. Australian coast watchers helped rescue her father John F. Kennedy after the ship he was commanding was sunk in 1943, also in the Solomon Islands. Ambassador Kennedy said she could not “think of a better symbol of the strength of our alliance.”

The new Canberra will be written into many other families’ stories. Its commissioning outside the US already required considerable sacrifice from the crew’s loved ones, who could only send their well wishes from across the Pacific. Australian Chief of Navy Mark Hammond captured the sentiments of many of these families, declaring that “power at sea is derived from strength at home”.

The Canberra story reveals the great trust and common purpose sitting at the heart of Australia’s US alliance. An Australian navy exchange officer has been permanently assigned to the ship.

The new vessel was also the product of increasing integration of our two countries’ defence industries. Canberra was not only commissioned in Sydney but built at the Mobile, Alabama shipyard of WA’s own Austal. Austal is the only non-American company to build ships for the US Navy.

This defence integration will only grow under AUKUS, which US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro called a “generational accord” in Sydney. WA is at the front of the queue for new opportunities.

The first phase of AUKUS activity will be almost entirely based in this State. US and UK nuclear submarines will begin rotating through HMAS Stirling naval base from 2027. US-constructed and Australian-owned Virginia-class nuclear submarines are scheduled to be based at HMAS Stirling from 2030. The first Australian built vessels are expected arrive in the early 2040s.

Massive new investment will be required to create this new capacity. The Federal Government has already pledged $8 billion in spending towards upgrades over the next decade, with more sure to follow. New activity will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs. WA will also gain considerable capacity in sectors such as higher education and skills and training.

WA will in turn play a central role in ensuring Australian security long into the future. Our region has enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity since the sinking of the first HMAS Canberra at the height of World War II. But we can no longer take the continuation of this good fortune for granted.

Nor can Australians overlook the great value of our US alliance in responding to rising challenges. Those present in Sydney last week were reassured as the value America also places on these vital ties. “The answer,” Deputy Prime Minister Marles noted, “is found in the story of the Canberra”.