Australia has decided to increase its defence budget and review its defence plans as strategic competition between the United States and China heats up in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles pledged to increase spending on the armed forces by A$50.3 billion ($32 billion) over the next decade, warning that the country faces the “most complex strategic circumstances” since the Second World War.
“Australia no longer has the luxury of a 10-year strategic warning period for conflict,” Marles, who is also deputy prime minister, said in a speech at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.
Marles announced that defence spending would rise from 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product in 2024-2025 to 2.4 per cent in 2033-2034. Defence spending is expected to rise from about A$55 billion in 2024-2025 to about A$100 billion in 2033-2034.
The key US ally also outlined plans to overhaul its armed forces. The aim, officials said, was to deter attempts by a potential adversary to project power across Australia’s northern approaches.
Officials said they wanted the Australian military to be a more focused force capable of addressing the country’s most significant strategic risks. This means Australia plans to develop a larger and more lethal navy, an army more capable of operating in a littoral environment, a better air force, and more cyber and space capabilities.
According to the new National Defence Strategy announced on Wednesday, immediate priorities include a plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the trilateral AUKUS partnership with the US and UK, develop long-range strike and missile production, and strengthen key bases in the north of the country.
According to Australia’s new defence strategy, “China is developing its capabilities in all aspects of warfare at a pace and scale not seen in the world for almost a century. It is doing so without transparency about its strategic intentions.
Washington is strengthening its network of alliances in the region to pressure Beijing.
Australia has deepened its defence cooperation with the US in recent years, and the two countries’ armies often train together and buy the same equipment. Recently, the US joined Japan and the Philippines in naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea.
On the other hand, Australia’s government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is trying to repair deteriorating diplomatic relations with China, its largest trading partner. High-level dialogue between Australia and China has resumed since Albanese won the 2022 election, and Beijing has recently moved to lift trade restrictions on Australian goods, including wine.
“While Australia and China have different values and political systems, a stable and constructive relationship is in the interests of both nations,” the new defence strategy states.
In response to Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles’ references to China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that Australia should correctly assess China’s development and strategic intentions, abandon the Cold War mentality and stop making China a problem. The new defence strategy states that China uses ‘coercive tactics’.
