The New United States and Australia Defense Treaty

The full text of the Australia-United States Treaty on Defense Trade Cooperation was posted online today. This new treaty was worked out by President Bush and former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. The major effect of the treaty breaks down a lot of the controls in defense trade between the US and Australia. In reality, this type of defense relationship would only be worked out between the US and either Australia and Great Britain, and perhaps, maybe... Japan.

I'm going to let people smarter than I debate the specifics, but anytime you remove controls from defense you do not do so casually. I know from the Australian perspective, this is a major desire in particular how it relates to upcoming AEGIS Air Defense destroyers but more importantly, the future replacement for the Collins class submarine. It 'may' also serve as a bridge for Australia to replace the planned JSF buy for Australia with a buy of F-22s instead.

This may not get much press, but is worth keeping a keen eye on, as the ramifications are enormous for both nations. There is a good argument that this is the most important defense treaty in a generation, as it has direct ramifications for the future defense relationships between the United States and our closest allies, and the future can be hard to predict. When you factor in the Defense Lobby, I think the Senate hearings on this Treaty has the potential to break down into a circus. I wonder if the media will even discusses it.