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Reuters Andrew Kelly
The Australian government announced that it does not intend to follow the lead of the new US President Joe Biden’s administration in suspending military exports to countries involved in the Yemeni conflict.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Australian Ministry of Defense, in response to a question from journalists about whether the Canberra government would review its stance on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, defended the current system for licensing arms exports.
The spokesman explained that the government evaluates each request to export military equipment separately and in detail based on changing geostrategic conditions and existing risks and based on the latest developments, including considering whether these exports harm the country’s security, defense and international relations.
He added that the Australian government does not agree to provide military equipment to another country if there is a risk that this equipment or technology will be used in a way that is contrary to the interest of the state, including committing serious human rights violations.
In response to a question whether the Biden administration briefed Australia on its positions on exporting military equipment to the region, the spokesman said that the two countries have held a number of consultations on global challenges and are discussing on a permanent basis defense issues, without providing further details.
According to the data of the “Guardian” newspaper, between August 2019 and October 2020, the Australian government issued five permanent licenses to export military equipment to Saudi Arabia and nine similar licenses to the UAE.
This comes despite the issuance of many human rights organizations and anti-war calls to the Australian government to suspend arms sales to the Arab coalition countries led by Saudi Arabia.
Source: The Guardian
