Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Kitching, I move:

That the following matter be referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for inquiry and report by 5 August 2021:

Opportunities for advancing Australia's strategic interests through existing regional architecture, with particular reference to:

(a) the suitability of existing regional architecture and country-groupings to address key human security issues in the Indo-Pacific, including health security, the impacts of climate change, human rights and labour rights;

(b) the interactions between and complementarity of regional security groupings- including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum and the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative - and other regional cooperation mechanisms such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the East Asia Summit;

(c) using existing regional architecture to deepen Australia's defence engagement and strategic cooperation across the Indo-Pacific;

(d) how regional security groupings deliver Australia's objectives of promoting a stable, resilient and inclusive Indo-Pacific, including:

(i) progress on thematic focus areas already identified (maritime security, cyber and critical technology, critical minerals, counter-terrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) and potential for additional thematic focus areas,

(ii) the feasibility of institutionalising certain regional security groupings and the potential for expansion, and

(iii) deepening cooperation between regional security partners on economic and development issues in the Indo-Pacific; and

(e) any related matters.

Question agreed to.