Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

As I said to the senator in response to his first question, an exercise such as this is engaged in on an opportunity basis—that is, when ships that are part of the CMF are in the same place at the same time. What Australia has done is to urge all those involved in Yemen to end the conflict and to return to UN led negotiations aiming for a permanent end to the hostilities. Australian officials have made representations to the parties to the conflict regarding the importance of allowing unhindered humanitarian access and the need to respect international humanitarian law. In relation to the position of the ADF, Australia does not conduct operations in Yemeni territorial waters or Yemini airspace. Nor do we currently have a defence relationship with—