25 July 2025, 16:07

By Dr John Hemmings

This year’s Australia-UK Ministerial in Sydney can, by most measures, be seen as a stunning success.

The 2 2 ministerial (called so because it involves the foreign and defence ministers from both sides) was a celebration of UK staying power in the Indo-Pacific, coming shortly after 3,000 British troops took part in the Australian large Talisman Sabre military exercise (this year’s was particularly big and included troop contributions from 19 countries).

It was also marked by the arrival of the UK’s 70,000-tonne aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales. It was most likely the largest display of British military power in Australia since the end of the Second World War.

While the UK and Australia have a long shared military relationship, it has been dormant for much of the post-war period, a marker of constraints “east of Suez” on MOD forces in Asia, and the prioritisation of the Persian Gulf and........

© LBC