- by Graham Holton
- The Guardian
- Issue #2186
Australia is spending $568 million to extend the West Island airfield at an Australian-United States military base on Cocos (Keeling) Islands, 3,000 km north west of Perth. The upgrade is designed to accommodate P-8A Poseidon submarine-hunting, maritime surveillance aircraft and the MC-55A Peregrine intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance fleet. This will enhance Australia’s monitoring of the Indian Ocean shipping lanes. This ‘mini-Diego Garcia’ increases US and Australian air-sea battle capacity in the Indian Ocean. It is set for completion by 2028, transforming the remote territory into a key hub for monitoring maritime traffic at a final cost of $3 billion.
The project has brought in a large workforce, increasing stress on the local population, local resources and environmental stress on the sensitive, low-lying coral atoll. The construction near a shallow lagoon will impact the marine species’ habitat with reports indicating a detrimental impact on the endangered green and hawksbill turtles.
The project is aligned with the US Pacific Deterrence Initiative, with the US operating surveillance aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from the island. Drone operations are a ‘realistic possibility’ for the Australian air force’s Ghost Bat multirole aircraft. The base aims to maintain the US military advantage over China by modernising and strengthening the US presence in the Indo-Pacific region. For Australia it will enhance its capacity to deploy advanced, long-range patrol aircraft to secure Australia’s north-western maritime approaches.
The expansion includes a new wharf, increased fuel storage, and fire-fighting capabilities. It will strengthen taxiways, apron, drainage, lighting systems and logistics infrastructure. There is the additional cost of radar and signals intelligence, housing and logistics for personnel, and water desalination systems for the increased population.
The Department of Defence said it is committed to ecological sustainable development, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adopting low-maintenance, water-sensitive designs. The federal government will need to address environmental impacts on marine ecosystems, especially the increased risks related to climate-induced coastal erosion and the long-term sustainability of a military installation on the fragile atoll. Frank Mills, Cocos Islands Shire Council CEO, said “Historically the Cocos Malay people were promised a lot of things when they voted to assimilate to Australia but not many of those have ever come to fruition.” They have little expectation on things improving under the base agreement.
The construction is an immediate threat to the fragile coral ecosystem, from contamination from PFAS chemical firefighting foams, fuel spills, groundwater pollution, waste materials and dumped equipment, creating long-term toxic waste issues. Increased flights increase noise pollution from heavy aircraft operations disrupting wildlife and their habitats.
The islands are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise and erosion, and parts of the atoll could be underwater within fifty years, with reports of significant storm surges and beach degradation already occurring. The government’s $23 million package will manage climate-related risks, including upgrading seawalls to protect against erosion and storms.
The project also involves removing decades of waste, including rusted, perforated steel-planking matting from previous airstrips. Defence is planning to remove, screen, and containerise waste for shipment to mainland Australia. Material waste that has become a functional marine habitat may not be removed. The military project may provide great benefit to the US, but it will leave Australia with the environmental cleanup. Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste are also outlined in the US Pacific Deterrence Initiative worth up to US$15 billion.
