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HMAS Ballarat joins Operation Argos

HMAS Ballarat joins Operation Argos

The Anzac Class frigate has joined international efforts to enforce sanctions on North Korea.

The Anzac Class frigate has joined international efforts to enforce sanctions on North Korea.

Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Ballarat has joined Operation Argos — Australia’s contribution to international efforts to monitor and deter illegal shipments of sanctioned goods to North Korea, as part of United Nations’ Security Council Resolution 2397

Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said Operation Argos was a demonstration of Australia’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and a 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,” LTGEN 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 marks the ADF’s second contribution to the operation in 2021, following the successful deployment of a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft earlier this year.

The Royal Australian Navy has deployed five vessels in total since the operation commenced in 2018, with HMAS Ballarat’s deployment following HMAS Arunta in November 2020.

Maritime patrol aircraft have also been deployed on eight occasions.

This latest deployment is part of Ballarat’s two-month regional presence deployment throughout south-east and north-east Asia.

[Related: RAN joins allies in multi-domain exercise]

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