The Maritime Border Command safeguards Australia’s vast coastline and maritime domain, focusing on illegal fishing, contraband prevention, and people smuggling through an intelligence-driven approach.
In an exclusive interview, Australian Border Force Commander and Deputy Commander of the Joint Agency Task Force Operation Sovereign Borders, Mark Whitechurch, highlights growing cooperation with Bangladesh, formalized by a recent Memorandum of Understanding, to address shared maritime threats and uphold a rules-based Indo-Pacific order via training, intelligence sharing and fostering regional stability.
What are the current priorities for Maritime Border Command, particularly in countering people smuggling?
Mark Whitechurch: Maritime Border Command serves as Australia’s coast guard and operates within the Australian Border Force. Our responsibilities are vast, encompassing a coastline that stretches over 30,000 kilometers and covering approximately 11% of the world’s oceans for search and rescue operations.
Most of Australia’s population resides within 50 kilometers of the coastline, fostering a strong connection to the ocean and marine wildlife. Our mission is to safeguard our waters, which in turn protects the land we live on. This undertaking is resource-intensive, given the geographical and operational challenges we face. To address these complexities, we adopt an intelligence-led approach to ensuring the security and safety of our maritime domain.
Our key priorities can be summarized in three areas. Firstly, countering illegal fishing and protecting natural resources are crucial objectives for both the Australian government and Maritime Border Command. Secondly, we work to prevent the influx of narcotics and other contraband entering Australia by sea. Finally, and most directly within my remit, is the fight against people smuggling.
According to the United Nations, over 122 million people globally are forcibly displaced, with many more seeking better economic prospects due to challenging circumstances. My role centers on protecting vulnerable individuals from criminal exploitation. Unfortunately, I often encounter harrowing accounts of the abuse and mistreatment inflicted by people smugglers, who exploit those in desperate situations for profit.
Australia has a generous humanitarian visa program, but it maintains a firm policy that anyone attempting to reach the country by boat will not be permitted to settle here. This approach is intended to dismantle the business model of people smugglers, who otherwise market Australia as a viable destination. Enabling their operations not only leads to exploitation but also causes tragic outcomes, including loss of life at sea.
Can you describe the current maritime security cooperation between Australia and Bangladesh?
I would characterize our relationship as both positive and growing. While we are still in the early stages, Australia has a strong history of engagement with Bangladesh across various issues. In fact, we were among the first countries to recognize the independence of Bangladesh.
More recently, last year, we witnessed two high-profile visits by senior Australian ministers to Bangladesh. During these visits, we signed a Civil Maritime Security MoU on cooperation between Maritime Border Command and the Bangladesh Coast Guard.
The purpose of this agreement is to formalize our collaboration in addressing a range of civil maritime security threats, including some of the key challenges I’ve mentioned earlier. It also establishes a structured framework for sharing information and intelligence, providing training, and upskilling personnel based on our respective expertise.
There is much we can learn from one another as maritime-focused nations with shared interests in a safe and prosperous Indian Ocean. For example, we’ve conducted initial training sessions on maritime domain awareness here in Bangladesh and in Sri Lanka, which involved Bangladeshi experts. We’ve also delivered training on investigative interviewing techniques.
How does the Australia-Bangladesh partnership help tackle people smuggling and promote safe migration?
Within this partnership, we emphasize the importance of migrating through regular and legal channels while actively protecting against irregular migration. To start, I would highlight our cooperation on regular migration. We hold annual senior officials’ talks between our foreign ministries to discuss migration settings, ensuring they meet the needs of both countries in a mutually beneficial manner.
We also work to share information about legal migration pathways. We emphasize that individuals seeking to migrate to Australia should rely on official advice from Australian government sources to avoid exploitation. Furthermore, we mutually discuss the consequences and dangers of irregular migration, fostering awareness about the risks involved.
Currently, more than 65,000 individuals born in Bangladesh now reside in Australia, many of whom are citizens. These are highly skilled people who followed the proper channels to migrate, and they make an outstanding contribution to Australia’s vibrant multicultural society. Additionally, over 14,000 Bangladeshi students are studying in Australia. This partnership benefits both nations—Australia gains from the contributions of the Bangladeshi community, while Bangladesh benefits economically through remittances and support.
As for the agreement itself, it plays a key role in addressing irregular migration. We focus on information sharing, intelligence gathering on threats, maritime domain awareness and raising awareness about the dangers of irregular migration. I’ve encountered distressing accounts of individuals being exploited in third countries before reaching Australia. The aim here is to foster seamless cooperation that breaks the people smuggling networks.
Our efforts extend beyond the Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard under this agreement. We’re also building relationships with the Special Branch, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA). This multi-pronged approach allows us to understand and dismantle the entire network of criminal people smugglers, ensuring a safer migration process for all.
How does this partnership contribute to stability and security in the Indian Ocean region?
The Indo-Pacific serves as a shared domain for many nations, including Australia and Bangladesh, which naturally ties us together. It is in our mutual interest to promote a rules-based order, and this partnership helps us achieve that. Through this agreement, we work on identifying and advancing shared regional interests while contributing to a stronger regional security architecture.
An open, fair and free Indian Ocean is vital—not only for Australia and Bangladesh but for all neighboring countries. Ensuring that this ocean remains protected and accessible is a core focus of our collaboration. Together, we aim to safeguard the region so that its resources and opportunities can be equitably enjoyed by everyone.
What measures are there to ensure our cooperation stays effective against evolving maritime threats?
To begin with, information sharing is absolutely critical. Whenever our two nations discuss civil maritime security threats, we’re addressing shared challenges. Understanding these threats requires the exchange of intelligence and ongoing discussions about how they are evolving.
Ultimately, the adversaries we face in civil maritime security are criminal organizations, and they are constantly adapting their methodologies to bypass the protections we establish. This is why intelligence sharing plays such a pivotal role in staying ahead of these evolving threats.
We also approach this partnership with a long-term perspective. This is not, as they say, a “flash in the pan.” We recognize that both Australia and Bangladesh face a range of shared challenges in civil maritime security, and we do not enter into such arrangements lightly.
How do international alliances like QUAD shape Australia’s security priorities?
The global environment is evolving in such a complex and rapid way that we must be open and honest about the need to find areas of commonality with all of our counterparts, particularly those we form alliances with. It’s important to acknowledge that we won’t always see eye to eye, but I believe this diversity of perspectives is incredibly valuable.
Enhanced partnerships, like the one we have with Bangladesh, allow us to engage in open and frank discussions about our shared interests. Building a clear understanding of each other’s challenges and identifying ways to collaborate effectively on these shared priorities is crucial. Partnerships of this kind provide a platform for open dialogue and mutual cooperation.
What you’ll find with Australia is that we consistently take a calm and balanced approach. We don’t react impulsively; instead, we carefully analyze the situation to understand what is right for Australia and what aligns with the interests of our partners. This steady and deliberate approach underpins our alliances and helps us navigate the dynamic geopolitical landscape.
What is Australia thinking about Chinese dominance in Pacific and Indian Ocean?
That’s a very pertinent question and one that’s on the minds of many people today. Fundamentally, what Australians value is respect for the rule of law and adherence to established international norms. Under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), there are well-defined international standards, and Australia is committed to abiding by them. What we seek is for other nations to do the same.
It’s in everyone’s interest to ensure that we operate in a safe and secure manner, with appropriate flows of information. Every country has its geopolitical interests—Australia is no exception. However, our focus is on ensuring adherence to international norms and laws, so that all nations operate on a level playing field.
Considering Donald Trump’s stance on security partnerships with Europe, could this influence US-Australia relations in terms of security dynamics?
That’s well outside my direct remit, but what I can say is that the United States has been a long-standing ally of Australia, and I don’t see that changing under the current political arrangement.
As you may know, Australia is also heading into an election in the coming weeks—though only the Prime Minister knows exactly when it will be called. Regardless, the historical partnership between Australia and the US has always been resilient. We’ve faced challenges together in the past, and I’m confident we’ll continue to address any that arise in the future.
Our relationship is built on shared values and a foundation of trust. While we don’t always agree on every issue, we maintain an open and frank dialogue with the United States. This mutual understanding and commitment to common values ensure the strength of our alliance.
