Australia’s military must become ‘focused force’ to combat ‘missile age’ in Indo-Pacific
The Australian military will be rapidly transformed to prepare for a possible conflict triggered by China and the United States’ increasingly tense superpower rivalry as the federal government junks the fundamental principles that have guided Australian defence policy since World War II.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese launch the Defence Strategic Review with Pat Conroy, Minister for the Pacific, Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, and Secretary of the Defence Department Greg Moriarty.The government has adopted all the review’s recommendations in full or in-principle and plans to spend $19 billion responding to the review over the four-year budget forward estimates.
“We cannot fall back on old assumptions. We must build the strength in our security by seeking to shape the future rather than waiting for the future to shape us.” Urging Australians to recognise that the nation’s closest ally, the United States, is no longer the sole dominant power in the Asia-Pacific region, the reviewers argue the return of great power competition should be seen as the “defining feature of our region and time”.
Marles said the government agrees with the review’s central finding that the ADF, as currently constituted and equipped, is “not fully fit-for-purpose”.Marles rejected suggestions the army was being sidelinedBut he acknowledged the government was “reshaping” the army to focus on long-range strike and maritime operations rather than land-based warfare.
“The current Australian Defence Force force structure is based on a ‘balanced force’ model that reflects a bygone era,” Smith and Houston state.
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