Australia’s HMAS Ballarat joins Operation Argos

Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Ballarat has joined Operation Argos, the Australian commitment to the international effort to enforce UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea.

HMAS Ballarat is the second Australian Defence Force contribution to Operation Argos this year.

It is the fifth deployment of a Navy vessel to the operation since it started in 2018.

The ship joins a multinational force including Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These forces are monitoring and deterring illegal ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned goods.

“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,” said lieutenant general Greg Bilton, chief of joint operations.

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.