A community leader on Australia's most westerly tropical territory has called for clarity about a half-a-billion dollar upgrade of the territory's military capabilities amid fears it will create a security risk and infrastructure headaches.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) plans to upgrade a strategically important airfield in the Shire of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands — subject to parliamentary approval.
Initially budgeted at $184 million, the project is now expected to cost $568 million, with the blowout prompting questions about the ADF's intentions.
Shire of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands chief executive Frank Mills said islanders were anticipating significant changes during construction over the next few years, but also asked whether the investment posed a security threat to the community.
"The community, I guess, has some trepidation as to what's going to happen in terms of the upgrade," he said.
"There is no doubt that life as we know it at the moment is going to change significantly during the course of the runway upgrade."
The Cocos Keeling Islands are a group of 27 coral islands — two of which are inhabited — about 2,750 kilometres north-west of Perth.
Mr Mills called for a genuine discussion with the ADF about its short and long-term intentions in the Cocos — particularly in utilising the upgraded runway — and questioned whether there was any possibility of the runway becoming a target for armed forces from other nations.
"It'd be good to be able to have those genuine discussions so that people out here can make their own minds up, as to whether it's a safe and secure environment for them to look at living at long term," he said.
He said the population of about 500 would drastically increase with construction workers, and their freedom to travel the roads on West Island would be hindered by equipment and machinery.
The ADF was contacted for comment.
A necessary upgrade
University of Western Australia Defence and Security Institute research fellow Troy Lee-Brown said he understood the community's concerns, but the approach was reasonable.
"Cocos is part of Australia's sovereign territory and Australia can choose to utilise the islands in ways it sees fit," he said.
He said the Cocos currently played a limited role in Australian security, due to its need for an upgrade in infrastructure.
But its location meant it could play an important role for surveillance in the north-eastern Indian Ocean and South-East Asia, as well as working with neighbours like India.
"It'll increase Australia's maritime domain awareness picture of that part of the world," Dr Lee-Brown said.
"We'll have a greater understanding of what's going on out in the Indian Ocean and that's not just against traditional military threats. That's also against non-traditional security threats such as illegal fishing, piracy, terrorism, smuggling.
"I think worrying about it becoming a target is a little overblown, but it is understandable because it is a lot of money being spent on a remote island."
