Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Ballarat has joined the international effort to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea.
Ballarat’s support to sanctions enforcement marks the second Australian Defence Force contribution to Operation ARGOS this year.
Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said Operation ARGOS demonstrated Australia’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and global rules-based order.
“Australia is committed to the stability and security of our region and will continue to support sanctions on North Korea until it takes concrete steps towards denuclearisation,” Lieutenant General Bilton said.
“HMAS Ballarat will contribute to a multinational force including Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, to monitor and deter illegal ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned goods.”
This is the fifth deployment of a Royal Australian Navy vessel to Operation ARGOS since the operation commenced in 2018. The Australian Defence Force has also deployed a maritime patrol aircraft on eight occasions for Operation ARGOS.
Ballarat is currently on a two-month regional presence deployment throughout Southeast and Northeast Asia.
