Australia declares huge boost in defense spending
The Australian government has announced a massive new investment on the country’s defense capabilities amid rising tensions in the Asia Pacific region.
“These are momentous times. The stakes are high. And as the opportunities expand, so does the cost of losing them,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Thursday at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra.
“We would be concerned if the competition for influence and the growth in military capability were to lead to instability and threaten Australia’s interests, whether in the South China Sea, the Korean peninsula or further afield,” the premier added.
The Australian government said it would spend $195 billion Australian dollar (USD 139 billion) over the next decade, including a doubling of its submarine fleet to 24, three additional destroyers, nine new frigates and 12 offshore patrol boats.
“A stronger Australia supports a safer Australia, a safer region and a safer world,” Turnbull noted.
The announcement was made at a time when Australia’s close ally, the US, pursues a foreign policy “pivot” towards Asia, while China flexes muscles in the region through a military build-up in the contested South China Sea.
Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The United States has sided with China’s rivals in the territorial dispute, accusing Beijing of implementing what it calls a land reclamation program in the South China Sea by building artificial islands in the disputed areas.
However, Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in the regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the contested waters.
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