Australia has rejected a US request for a warship to assist shield worldwide delivery lanes within the Red Sea, with Defense Minister Richard Marles saying the nation’s strategic focus had to stay on the Indo-Pacific.
Marles, who can be deputy prime minister, instructed Sky News on Thursday that Australia wouldn’t be sending a “ship or a plane” to the Middle East, however would as a substitute virtually triple its troop contribution to the US-led maritime pressure.
