The government’s plan to add an additional $50 billion (US$33 billion) to defence spending over the next decade will not enable Australia to scale up its defence should there be a threat in the region in the short term, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Its latest report says more immediate funding is also needed to ensure the “swift increases in capabilities that the Australian Defence Force [ADF] would need if our region were to deteriorate quickly.”
The increases announced in the budget were “directed towards strengthening the Australian Defence Force’s ability to fight in the next decade.” However, the institute stressed that funding was still needed.
“This is not doom-mongering; the government has acknowledged that the warning time before any conflict, which had long been set at 10 years, has shrunk to effectively zero time,” it said.
The government’s “rhetorical urgency is not being matched by action in the form of defence investment.”
The report also warned that the ADF “would essentially fight with the force it has today” if war were to break out at any time in the next 10 years.
Report Comes Amid Increased Aggression by Beijing
The report comes in the context of Beijing again claiming that it sees Taiwan as an inalienable part of China, and launching aggressive military manoeuvres encircling the island democracy, which it openly stated were a test of its capability to “seize power.”Partly in response, ministers from members of the 53-year-old Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA)—Australia, Britain, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore—agreed last week to stage more complex military drills in the region this year involving drones, fifth-generation fighter planes, and surveillance aircraft.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has insisted the government’s spending plans and its shift to focus on projecting Australian firepower deeper into the Pacific—which came following a landmark review into the military—meant the nation was on track to meet future challenges.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Marles also pointed to an additional $5.7 billion over the next four years.
“This includes additional money for the navy’s surface combatant fleet and for long-range strike capabilities,” the spokeswoman told AAP in a statement.
“We said there would be more money in defence ... and it’s there in black and white.”
Speaking last week at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Mr. Marles explained that Australia was not trying to match China or the United States in spending and capability but would be a highly relevant player due to its position in the region.
He warned of the “increasingly concerning trend” of provocative actions by the Chinese military.
In an address at the same gathering, China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun threatened that Taiwan would never be independent.
The two defence ministers met on Saturday on the sidelines of the conference. Mr. Marles said he raised interactions between the Australian and Chinese militaries but would not detail Mr. Dong’s reply.
