Second AUKUS Unpacked Webinar Now Available to Watch
“The greatest mistake you can make is to relearn old lessons.” Words of advice from Brigadier Mark Smethurst DSC, AM (Ret’d), during the second in the series of our AUKUS Unpacked webinar.
The webinar, titled AUKUS Unpacked: Effective Command in the Indo-Pacific, covered a range of topics exploring how strong leadership, strategic partnerships and effective common strategies can help operational support providers to successfully deliver in the Indo-Pacific.
Mark highlighted how recognizing previous lessons is vital - from cultural insights, to communication with local partners and understanding the political dynamics of regions are all required for mission success.
“There are some poignant lessons that we’ve taken over two decades of conflict in the Middle East theatre that shouldn’t be forgotten.”
Operating in the Indo-Pacific requires clear strategic thinking to ensure mission success. Mark emphasized that the most important strategy is persistent engagement with local partners and communities:
“Doing a two-week, a one-month exercise, a port visit, doing a… passage of exercise, through local waters of a country or regular flights into the South China Sea, in my opinion, doesn't cut it.”
Sustained engagement works alongside aligning with counter-terrorism measures, establishing status of force agreements for grey zone operations, a deep understanding of what you offer, and anticipating future disruption from climate change.
The webinar also highlighted how, given the diverse political and cultural landscape of the Indo-Pacific, regional defense cooperation requires careful diplomacy and logistical readiness supported and sustained by locally employed staff.
“You just can’t operate without them… So your support, your sustainment, your lodgings, all of those activities are generally going to have to be done by locally employed staff supported by an external contractor who you’ve got that trust with.”
The full session is available to watch here on Austability’s website: https://austability.com/publications/aukus-unpacked-effective-command-indo-pacific
Keep an eye on our LinkedIn page for any future events.
