![]() ![]() shipyards to learn how to manufacture submarines, Edel noted. shipyards in the short term and eventually boost the capacity of all three nations.Įdel said he doesn’t know of any case where an ally invested its money to build up the industrial capacity of the United States.Īustralia will also be sending hundreds of skilled workers to U.S. First and foremost is the AUKUS submarine deal, he said.įigures are not finalized, but Australia could be contributing upwards of $3 billion to improve the infrastructure of U.S. It also indicated massive amounts of money flowing to United States arms makers to purchase systems that Australia doesn’t manufacture. It shows that both the liberal and conservative parties are fully invested in the new strategic direction. … We need to keep those approaches open, and that means having the ability to challenge anybody who may wish to shut that down,” Watson said.Īn independent review of the nation’s surface ship requirements, which will drill down into the numbers and types of ships needed, is in the works and expected to be released later in the fiscal year, the strategy document said.Ĭharles Edel, Australia chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a key takeaway for him was the bipartisan nature of the document. “If someone shuts that down, we’re in a world of hurt. And Australia no longer refines its own fuel. Ninety-nine percent by weight of Australia’s trading goods comes and goes by sea. ![]() Australia is a maritime country,” Watson said. “We need to stop any nation choking off our maritime approaches and our sea lanes. The emphasis - as the AUKUS submarine deal indicated - will be on maritime operations. And that to me sounds a lot like the U.S. “We’re kind of turning at least part of our army into an amphibious borne warfighting element. Boosted will be medium and heavy landing craft, it said. Reduced is the number of infantry fighting vehicles from 450 to 129. In is the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, better known as HIMARS, and other land-based maritime strike capabilities. Out for the army is further development of a new self-propelled Howitzer, according to the document. Marine Corps than a force built to fight the global war on terror as it has been over the past few decades. Watson said the army may begin to add capabilities that more resemble the U.S. The “Army must be optimized for littoral operations in our northern land and maritime spaces and provide a long-range strike capability,” the strategy said. The new buzzword is “focused force” - an Australian military that is aligned to take on the Chinese threat with more of an emphasis on navy and air force assets, long-range fires, long-range strike and military bases in the nation’s north. “But the reality is the United States and Australia have made the same strategic judgment that this is the most likely point of future major conflict,” he said.Īmong the key takeaways is the end of the so-called “balanced defense” posture where the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and Navy all received equal shares of the budget, he said. The strategy doesn’t really “hit readers with China over the head.” In fact, the United States is mentioned more often as a partner than China is as a rival. It’s not explicit, but the strategy is all about China, he added. “It is more of the same, but it’s a quantum leap or a stepping up of what that alliance means to Australia in terms of capability,” he said in an interview. That shouldn’t be too surprising as the nations - along with the United Kingdom - recently announced details of their $360 billion program to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, known as the AUKUS agreement, he said. Mark Watson, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Washington, D.C., office, said, “The alliance with the United States is front and center in this defense strategic review.” The new “denial” posture will require Australia to develop or acquire a host of new defense systems, the strategy said.ĭeputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles said, “The review is clear that we cannot waste any more time when it comes to acquiring critical defense capabilities.” contractors in the coming years as the nation realigns its posture from one that simply defended its homeland at its borders to a more proactive strategy that deters “through denial any adversaries’ attempt to project power against Australia through our northern approaches,” the strategy stated. defense industry.īillions of dollars will be flowing from Australia to U.S. press when it was released April 24, but the 110-page document spells out enormous changes for the Indo-Pacific region as well as a coming boon for the U.S. Australia’s long-awaited Defence Strategic Review received relatively little attention in the U.S.
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