Australian sea mines

2023 - 1 - 24

Post cover — Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Australia to fast-track purchase of high-tech sea mines to protect ... (ABC News)

Amid China's growing influence in the Pacific, Australia will accelerate plans to buy advanced sea mines designed to differentiate between military targets ...

China has plans to step up its presence in the Pacific. Speaking to the ABC, Sam Roggeveen, the head of the International Security program at the Lowy Institute, said the mines would give Australia the ability to strategically block maritime passages and ports. The statement said Australia was "accelerating the acquisition of smart sea mines, which will help to secure sea lines of communication and protect Australia's maritime approaches".

Australia's sea-mine purchases aim to counter Chinese basing ... (Stars and Stripes)

Canberra is accelerating plans to buy high-tech underwater weapons to protect ports, trade routes and communication lines from.

They can be placed on the ocean floor and activated and deactivated as the circumstances dictate,” Thayer said. Fiji and Papua New Guinea, also close to Australia, are rated as moderately desirable but all three countries have low feasibility ratings, according to the report. "What we need is to make sure we have the best possible defenses,” he said. “While mines might historically be associated with indiscriminate land mines or ground mines, these are a very different capability,” the statement said. In 2021, the country joined the AUKUS defense pact with the U.S. report](https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2022-12-09/china-overseas-military-bases-rand-report-8356537.html) released last month, China’s Global Basing Ambitions, rates Timor Leste, just north of Australia, as a highly desirable location for a Chinese base.

Australia Speeds Up Purchase of 'Smart' Sea Mines to Deter China (gcaptain.com)

By Ben Westcott (Bloomberg) — The Australian government is looking to speed up the purchase of a new generation of sea mines to protect its ports amid ...

An announcement on the design of the new vessels is expected within months. “The U.S. In the past year, there were The U.S. The news was first reported by Australia’s Nine newspapers on Monday, which said the cost could be as much as A$1 billion ($700 million) although the final total was still considered confidential. The Department of Defence said in a statement Monday the “smart” sea mines would be able to discriminate between military targets and other shipping vessels and be “a significant deterrent to potential aggressors.”

Australia To Buy 'Smart Sea Mines' In Billion Dollar Deal That Can ... (EurAsian Times)

Australia is moving forward with its plans to purchase advanced sea mines to defend its territorial waters from Chinese and other potential enemies' naval ...

China planned to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region and signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands last year. Besides that, the sea mine is also a very adaptable warfare device that gives nations both offensive and defensive options. Sea mines are self-contained explosive tools that can be positioned in strategic choke places like straits and harbors to detonate invading enemy naval ships. “We need to make sure we have the best possible defenses. Furthermore, they can be dropped from an aircraft, a ship, or a submarine onto the ocean floor. [inked](https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/01/kongsberg-signs-contract-with-australia-for-naval-strike-missiles-nsm/) a contract with Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace (KONGSBERG) for the sizable purchase of Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) and related equipment. The report noted that Marles would receive a comprehensive analysis of the nation’s defense forces at the beginning of February to reshape the military to meet modern threats. Over the past few years, Australia has sought to increase its defense budget, and in 2021, it even signed a contract to purchase nuclear submarines from the US and UK. The last significant effort by Australia to build up a sizable stock of sea mines was halted in the 1990s. In a statement, the Department confirmed to SMH that it was speeding up the purchase of “smart sea mines.” It stated the new technology would assist secure marine routes and safeguard Australia’s borders. The report added that the Department of Defense plans to purchase sophisticated multi-influence ground mines that respond to pressure, magnetic, and acoustic impacts from approaching boats. Australia is moving forward with its plans to purchase advanced sea mines to defend its territorial waters from Chinese and other potential enemies’ naval incursions, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia expedites purchase of 'potent and powerful' sea mines to ... (Republic World)

Australia will make its first major investment in sea mines since the Vietnam War, to protect its maritime routes and ports amid China's Pacific expansion ...

The intention is to procure a sophisticated form of "multi-influence ground mines that react to acoustic, magnetic and pressure influences of passing vessels". The so-called smart sea mines are designed to differentiate between military targets and other types of ships, a defense department spokesperson said in a statement. China has built up a stockpile of up to 1,00,000 sea mines as part of its massive military expansion.

Australia to buy deep sea mines as China deterrent (The Times)

Australia is to lace its coast with powerful sea mines to deter China and other potential attackers from sending warships and submarines into the nation's ...

Australian Labor government spends $4 billion on weapons in three ... (WSWS)

While there is no money for public healthcare and education, both in an unprecedented crisis, the war machine is being provided with a blank cheque.

The clear aim is to ready the country to play a central role in a US war with China. In addition to a massive bombardment of the Chinese mainland, it would involve a maritime blockade that Australia would play a central role in enforcing. That underscores the need to build an anti-war movement to prevent such a catastrophe. He told the ABC last week his government was ensuring that “making sure that every single dollar that’s spent in defence is spent in the best possible way to support our national security… This would place them in the category of a medium-range missile system, further enabling offensive operations. Media reports have indicated that the $1 billion will fund a stock of mines in the hundreds, or at most the low thousands. The cost has not been revealed, but a Sydney Morning Herald report indicated that it would be in the region of $1 billion. The official statement declared that the purchase would provide “a significant deterrent to potential aggressors” amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. In 2010, as it was beginning a major military buildup throughout the Indo-Pacific, the Pentagon formally adopted the doctrine of AirSea Battle. The method is akin to a drip feed. Taken together, the Labor government has committed to at least $4 billion in military spending over the past three weeks. Nurses and doctors, warning daily that the public hospital system is in its worst crisis ever, are told “there is no money” for healthcare.