It is unclear whether the new port will be for industrial use only, or will it be able to accommodate naval ships from strategic partners in the US and UK?
Darwin Port has a significant geographical location. It is the closest modern deep-water port to Asia and China. It is the commercial gateway for Australia to connect with the Asian market. In 2015, Landbridge Group won the 99-year lease for the commercial operation of Darwin Port with a contract price of 506 million Australian dollars. After the deterioration of Sino-Australian relations, there have been voices in the Australian government claiming that the lease posed a security threat and demanded forced divestment. In May 2021, the Australian government asked the Ministry of Defence to review the lease agreement, but the Ministry of Defence's investigation report pointed out that there was no national security reason for the Australian government to overturn the lease agreement.
The Australian government will announce the construction of a new port in the strategically important city of Darwin after leasing existing facilities to a Chinese company, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on March 31.
The ABC said it was unclear whether the new port would be for industrial use only or a facility that could accommodate visiting naval ships from US and British strategic partners. It added that it is understood that Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government will make an announcement during the Australian election campaign in the coming weeks.
The government has allocated A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) for new port infrastructure in the Northern Territory, where Darwin is the capital, Infrastructure Minister Barnaby Joyce said in a statement on Tuesday, the NBC said.
China Landbridge Group secured a 99-year lease for Darwin Harbour commercial operations for A$506 million in 2015. Australia's northernmost city is the naval entry point into the increasingly competitive Indo-Pacific and is part of a decade-long security deal with a key Australian ally, and is home to about 2,500 US Marines.
Since the Landbridge takeover was criticised by then US President Barack Obama, Australia's diplomatic and trade relations with the world's second-largest economy have fallen sharply amid moves to limit Chinese investment in critical infrastructure and utilities. Several lawmakers in the Morrison government said Chinese ownership of the port had posed a security threat and called for forced divestment.
In May 2021, Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the Australian government was looking into whether Landbridge should abandon its leases under a set of tough laws passed in 2018 on foreign investment in infrastructure. Two months ago, an Australian parliamentary inquiry asked the government to consider revoking the lease on national security grounds.
In December, an Australian defence review found there was no national security reason to overturn the 99-year lease of Darwin Port to the Chinese company. dard