Australia Defence Strategy: On Wednesday, Australia announced its first National Defence Strategy, indicating a shift in emphasis towards impeding China’s “coercive tactics” in a region perceived to be heading towards confrontation.
As per Barron’s report, the 80-page report lays out a significant increase in defence spending to retool Australia’s military to deal with the crisis while providing a pessimistic view of security in the Pacific.
Defense Minister Richard Marles introduced the new approach, saying, “The optimistic assumptions that guided defence planning after the end of the Cold War are long gone.”
Warning that “China has employed coercive tactics in pursuit of its strategic objectives,” the text paints a picture of Australia as being open to enemies stifling trade or blocking access to crucial sea and air routes.
Marles declared, “We are a maritime trading island nation.”
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He claimed that “The invasion of Australia is an unlikely prospect in any scenario, precisely because so much damage can be done to our country by an adversary without ever having to step foot on Australian soil,”
According to Marles, the emphasis will now be entirely on creating a deterrent force that can defend Australia’s interests in its immediate region rather than on keeping a military that can do a variety of functions practically anywhere in the globe.
Plans to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines that are stealthy, have triple critical missile capabilities, and build a sizable fleet of surface combatants are at the core of the strategy.
“Having the most capable Navy in our history will be at the heart of our projection and our strategy of denial,” Marles stated.
Essentially, the plan is to make any strike on Australia’s interests very costly and hazardous. In ten years, defence spending as a percentage of GDP is expected to rise from roughly 2% to 2.4 %. This will only intensify the Pacific-wide weapons race, as China, South Korea, and Japan all increase their defense budgets.
In 2013, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported a 45% increase in military spending in Asia and Oceania. As a result, Australia believes that the likelihood of conflicts in the Taiwan Strait, the South and East China Seas, or along the border with India has significantly risen.
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According to Marles, there were no longer any preconceived notions about how long Australia would need to prepare for war.
Breaking long-held assumptions, he declared, “Australia no longer has the luxury of a 10-year window of strategic warning time for conflict”
Beijing asked Australia to “refrain from making accusations against China at every turn”. when questioned about Canberra’s approach during a routine briefing.
Speaking on behalf of the foreign ministry, Lin Jian stated, “China poses no threat to any country,”
“We hope that the Australian side can view China’s development and strategic intentions in a correct light, abandon the Cold War mentality (and) do more to safeguard regional peace and stability,” he stated.
