Australia to fund A$1.5b Darwin port to stem China threat

[CANBERRA] Australia will build a new A$1.5 billion (S$1.52 billion) port in Darwin to boost the export of gas and critical minerals, in competition with the city's main port which was controversially leased to a Chinese-owned company in 2015.

On the election campaign trail in the Northern Territory Tuesday (Apr 12), Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce cited tensions with China and growing instability in the Asia-Pacific region among the reasons for the investment.

"The geopolitical circumstances of our time have changed and we wish they hadn't. Nobody wants instability," Joyce said. "Nobody wants that but the reality is that China is moving down militarily and we see that now with them trying to start a base in the Solomon Islands."

Joyce said the new facility at Middle Arm was important for Australia to become "as strong as possible as quickly as possible" and the country could do that by earning "export dollars" through facilities such as the new Darwin port.

The port announcement comes ahead of the May 21 national election, where the centre-right government is asking for a fourth term in government off the back of its economic performance and handling of national security.

Darwin's existing port was leased to the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group in 2015 for A$506 million but as relations between China and Australia deteriorated in recent years, the investment has come to be seen by the government as a liability.

Darwin is a naval entry point for Australia to the contested Asia-Pacific region and is also home to a base for 2,500 US Marines, as part of a decade-long security pact with America. A review by the Australian government into the port's ownership in 2021 found no security concerns as a result of its ownership. BLOOMBERG