The importance of the Indian Ocean rim for Australia's foreign, trade and defence policy

14 June 2013

View the report as a single document - (PDF 5941KB)

View the report as separate downloadable parts:


Members of the committee	(PDF 249KB)

Acronyms and Abbreviations	(PDF 8KB)

Executive Summary	(PDF 160KB)

Chapter 1 - Introduction	(PDF 300KB)
Terms of reference Conduct of inquiry Visit to the Pilbara Background to inquiry Structure of report Acknowledgements

Chapter 2 - Background: the Indian Ocean rim	(PDF 380KB)
Definitions Geographic and hydrographic definition Rim vs region Sub-regions

Part I Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation—past, present and future—challenges and opportunities
Chapter 3 - OR-ARC—beginnings	(PDF 282KB)
Proposed Indian Ocean Association for Regional Cooperation Launch of IOR-ARC, 1997 Second meeting, 1999 Third and fourth meetings, 2001 and 2003 Fifth meeting, 2004 Sixth meeting, 2006 Seventh meeting, 2007—decade of talk Eighth meeting, 2008—Action Plan Ninth meeting, 2009—declaratory to action phase Tenth meeting, 2010—implementing spirit of revised IOR-ARC Charter Eleventh meeting, 2011—six priority areas Twelfth meeting, 2012—fifteenth anniversary Conclusion

Chapter 4 - IOR-ARC	(PDF 213KB)
The Troika Profile and achievements Forces hindering a regional organisation Diversity Relevance Other regional or subregional groupings Membership Leadership Resourcing Forces favouring a regional organisation Common ground The ocean itself Membership People-to-people links Opportunities—Troika Collaboration with India Working with like-minded countries in the region Greater involvement of NGOs Conclusion

Chapter 5 - IOR-ARC's prospects	(PDF 142KB)
Australia's role in IOR-ARC Vision for the region Views of government departments Austrade Australian Federal Police AusAID Resources, Energy and Tourism DFAT Future plans Lessons from the Asia Pacific Conclusion

Part II Disaster risk reduction and development assistance
Chapter 6 - Natural disasters and climate change	(PDF 315KB)
Background Disaster risk reduction Australia's contribution The Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction Disaster risk reduction assistance Climate change and disaster mitigation initiatives Developing countries and climate change IOR-ARC and disaster risk reduction Conclusion

Chapter 7 - Food Security	(PDF 244KB)
Background Australia's ODA to the Indian Ocean rim Food Security in the Indian Ocean rim CSIRO ACIAR Fisheries management Australia's contribution Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) Fisheries Support Unit Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna Capacity constraints Broader security matters Conclusion

Chapter 8 - Mining for development	(PDF 195KB)
Helping resource-rich countries Mining for Development initiative Africa down under Collaboration Conclusion

Chapter 9 - Scientific research and technology development	(PDF 270KB)
Research and the Indian Ocean rim Role of research in Indian Ocean rim IOR-ARC and scientific research Australia's contribution CSIRO Australian Federal Police Academic group—new centre in Western Australia Conclusion

Part III Defence and security in the Indian Ocean rim, including counter piracy and port state control
Chapter 10 - Defence and security in the Indian Ocean	(PDF 1072KB)
Strategic significance of the Indian Ocean rim Significance for Australia Counter-terrorism Naval presence in the Indian Ocean rim Growing influence of China—US pivot in the Indian Ocean rim India's growing significance Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Bilateral versus multilateral approaches to defence and security in the Indian Ocean rim Security risks to Australia's North West—protection of infrastructure Committee's visit to Pilbara region ADF presence and security risks in the North West Conclusion Piracy Prevalence of piracy in the Indian Ocean Effect of piracy Combating piracy in the Indian Ocean Australia's contribution counter-piracy measures Building local capacity Conclusion

Chapter 11 - Port state control	(PDF 359KB)
Background to regional port state control regimes Substandard ships Memoranda of understanding Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding Piracy Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing Limited resources Capacity building Conclusion

Part IV Growing Australia in the Indian Ocean region – mineral exports, mining, trade and tourism
Chapter 12 - Mineral Exports and Mining in the Indian Ocean rim	(PDF 685KB)
Introduction Australia's mineral exports to the Indian Ocean rim Iron ore Future growth Competition and investment opportunities Services Africa Africa Down Under Investment opportunities Partnerships and Synergies Corporate Interests Conclusion

Chapter 13 - Trade, free trade agreements and tourism in the Indian Ocean rim	(PDF 714KB)
Australia's trade in the Indian Ocean rim Commodities trade Education, tourism and export of services Foundations, Councils and Institutes—people-to-people links Australia's approach to trade in the Indian Ocean rim Austrade Australia's key competitors in the Indian Ocean rim Other international interests beyond the Indian Ocean rim IOR-ARC and trade Conclusion Tourism Conclusion

Chapter 14 - Conclusions and Recommendations	(PDF 315KB)
Considering the Indian Ocean rim as a cohesive region Committee view

Dissenting Report by Senator Scott Ludlam - Australian Greens Senator for Western Australia	(PDF 78KB)

Appendix 1 - Public submissions	(PDF 7KB)

Appendix 2 - Public hearings and witnesses	(PDF 69KB)

Appendix 3 - Additional information, tabled documents, and answers to questions on notice	(PDF 67KB)

For further information, contact:

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone: +61 2 6277 3535

Fax: +61 2 6277 5818

Email: fadt.sen@aph.gov.au

Phone:	+61 2 6277 3535
Fax:	+61 2 6277 5818
Email:	fadt.sen@aph.gov.au