China—one of Australia’s most significant trading partners—is seeking greater influence over Australia’s immediate region. In addition to its economic and diplomatic dominance over its neighbors, China is becoming a major figure in regional infrastructure development, notably communications, energy, and ports, seeking control through what some commentators have described as “debt-trap diplomacy.”1 All this is occurring while the People’s Liberation Army Navy is investing heavily in force projection capabilities.
Experts differ over the strategic purpose of Chinese amphibious capability. While some argue it is a tool for regional control with a focus on Taiwan, others see it as part of a trajectory to a blue-water sea-control capability.2 Regardless, militarized artificial features in the South China Sea, potential control of air and sea ports in the southwest Pacific, and a growing amphibious capability create a force posture that could mirror General Douglas MacArthur’s World War II island-hopping operational design.
In this environment, Australia requires the ability not only to deter and defeat threats in a potential high-end conflict but also to shape and influence the region in the present. This means the ability to undertake visible regional engagement, assist neighboring countries in time of disaster, and contribute to regional security. Amphibious forces are one of the few capabilities optimized across the full range of operations, from shaping to stability operations to deterrence and even sea control.
1. Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, quoted in Peter Hartcher, “Pacific Crisis a Direct Threat to Australia,” The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 October 2018.
2. See Grant Newsham, “Has the PLA Really Overlooked Its Amphibious Force?” The Lowy Interpreter, 1 June 2018.