Operation Gateway is an ongoing
Australian Defence Force (ADF) regional security and stability operation in
South East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
.
History
Commencing in 1980, the operation formed part of Australia's contribution to Western surveillance operations during the
Cold War. It included the use of
P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft and naval vessels which conducted missions in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
and the
Strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...
. Royal Australian Navy submarines were also involved, conducting patrols as part of US "deterrence and surveillance operations against Soviet submarines". Meanwhile, the Australian Army maintained
Rifle Company Butterworth __NOTOC__
Rifle Company Butterworth is an Australian Army infantry company based at RMAF Base Butterworth in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia. Rifle Company Butterworth was established in 1970 to provide a protective and quick-reaction force for RAAF ...
at
Butterworth airbase in Malaysia in order to protect allied aircraft involved in the operation.
According to Brewster, during the 1980s the primary focus of Royal Australian Air Force aircraft involved in the operation was on detecting Soviet submarines transiting the Strait of Malacca, after which they would hand over to the US Navy. In response to Australian security concerns following the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan a detachment of up to three Orions from
No. 92 Wing RAAF were deployed to Butterworth in Malaysia and began operations in February 1981. Initially the patrols involved the regular monitoring of Soviet ship and submarine movements in the region; however, the following year they began a "more aggressive prosecution phase" the following year which involved the use of radar and
sonar buoys to actively detect, identify and track submarines. These patrols ended in 1989.
Since the end of the Cold War the Orions have continued to participate in maritime security operations under the
Five Power Defence Arrangements
The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) are a series of bilateral defence relationships established by a series of multi-lateral agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, all of which are Commonwe ...
, conducting patrols over the Indian Ocean, Strait of Malacca and
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...
. As part of this operation RAAF aircraft are involved in search and rescue and counter-piracy missions, at times flying as far afield as Sri Lanka and the Philippines. They have reportedly also been involved in
freedom of navigation
Freedom of navigation (FON) is a principle of law of the sea that ships flying the flag of any sovereign state shall not suffer interference from other states, apart from the exceptions provided for in international law. In the realm of internat ...
flights. Australian aircraft reportedly deploy to Butterworth between four and eight times a year, and conduct regular flights over the period of a fortnight.
Notes
References
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Further reading
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External links
Operation Gateway– Department of Defence
Recognition of service with Operation Gateway– Defence Honours & Awards Appeal Tribunal
Gateway