Eye on China: Australia plans biggest defence shake-up since World War II

A government review of Australia’s military readiness has recommended sweeping changes to the defense forces, as the country adjusts to a rapidly changing strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific region. 

Australia’s military is not “fit for purpose” as it currently stands, the Defence Strategic Review released on Monday found. It recommended the government reprioritise spending toward purchasing long-range missiles and military drones, while boosting domestic defense manufacturing. “This is a watershed moment for defense policy in our country’s history,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said. The review found Australia faces a “radically different” strategic environment including a military build-up by China that is “the largest and most ambitious” by any country World War II.  All this is happening as the US, for 80 years the dominant regional player, is no longer the “unipolar leader of the Indo-Pacific.”  China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that her nation hoped “some countries do not use China as an excuse to expand their military capabilities and hype up China threat, which is groundless.”