Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today released a new strategic defense review which his government commissioned eight months ago shortly after taking office. In the words of the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian defense budget will get a $19 billion increase over the next four years “to prepare the defense force for a possible conflict between China and the United States.”
Delivering a stark warning that the Defense Force is not equipped for a modern age of warfare, the federal government’s defense strategic review calls out China for threatening Australia’s national interests by undermining the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific and failing to be transparent about its dramatic military expansion, the daily reports. Described by Defense Minister Richard Marles as a “watershed moment for defense policy,” the review, conducted by former Defense Minister Stephen Smith and former Defense Force chief Angus Houston, also calls for the urgent fortification of military bases in northern Australia and the rapid development of a local missile manufacturing industry.
