For the first week after the coup, the Australia's military response was limited to maintaining the naval vessels at or near Fiji and suspending aid to the RFMF provided under the Defence Cooperation Program. The naval vessels ships provided secure communications between the Australian High Commission in Suva and a means of evacuating Australian nationals if the situation worsened. While the Government did not believe that an evacuation would become necessary, the ship Stalwart docked at Suva and ships Adelaide and Sydney docked at Lautoka. They all remained docked after their diplomatic clearance expired on 18 May, leaving only on 20 May after the Fijian Governor-General's office ordered then to depart. Stalwart, Adelaide and Sydney subsequently cruised just outside Fiji's territorial waters.Gubb (1988), pp. 3–4
