HMAS Warramunga. Photo credit: Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga has joined international efforts to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea.
This is the sixth time Australia has deployed a warship on Operation Argos, the country’s commitment to the enforcement of these sanctions, since they began in 2018.
According to a statement released by the Department of Defence, “Operation Argos is an important part of Australia’s efforts to support nuclear non-proliferation and the ongoing stability and security of the Indo-Pacific”.
Warramunga will monitor and deter North Korea’s illegal ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned goods.
The RAN’s Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, said the deployment would add weight to Australia’s economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea.
“Enforcing UN sanctions supports the international community’s goal of the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea,” Lieutenant General Bilton said.
“Australia is committed to the stability and security of our region and will continue to enforce sanctions until North Korea takes concrete steps towards denuclearisation.”
Warramunga will contribute to a multinational force including Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The ship is the second to deploy on Operation Argos this year, following the deployment of HMAS Ballarat in May 2021.
Royal Australian Air Force P-8A maritime patrol aircraft have contributed to Operation Argos on nine occasions, most recently in August.
“Enforcing sanctions supports the international community’s goal of the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea,” the Department of Defence said.
“United Nations Security Council sanctions limit North Korea’s imports of refined petroleum and crude oil, and its exports of coal, all of which are facilitated by such transfers.”
Earlier this month, the Washington DC-based publication, Foreign Policy, reported that it had obtained leaked documents indicating the US State Department is concerned that United Nations member states lack the ability to fully implement sanctions on North Korea.
“The report is a sign that US President Joe Biden’s administration is looking to restore the sanctions network that fell apart during the last several years of failed nuclear talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,” Foreign Policy said.
“In the report, submitted to Congress in April, the State Department conceded to lawmakers that the lack of international capacity to help make sanctions bite is one of the most significant challenges to full implementation.”