On Monday, Australia announced a plan to increase its military spending by $7 billion and more than double its fleet of warships over the next 10 years as part of a buildup aimed at China, Australia’s largest trading partner.
According to AFP, the plan will see Australia increase its number of surface vessels to 26, up from 11 today. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said it will be Australia’s largest fleet since World War II.
“What is critically important to understand is that as we look forward, with an uncertain world in terms of great power contest, we’ll have a dramatically different capability in the mid-2030s to what we have now,” Marles said.
Australia is also working with the US and the UK on the AUKUS military pact that will arm Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines, with the eventual goal of Australia being able to produce its own. Australia is expected to spend up to $245 billion on AUKUS by 2055.
On top of its own military buildup, Canberra is allowing the US to beef up its presence in Australia. Another aspect of AUKUS includes more deployments of US troops, aircraft, and naval assets to Australia.
A report from Reuters recently revealed that last year, during the US and Australia’s Talisman Sabre exercises, the US left behind a new weapons stockpile in Australia. The US is looking to establish similar stockpiles in the Philippines, Japan, and possibly Taiwan.
It always tickles me to death to mention the name of Australia’s city where they’re planning for war with China… and Russia if they’re lucky. …Guess what it is? …It’s Darwin. …No kidding… IKR? LOLOL. The jokes just write themselves.
The Australians are incapable of fighting China , infact it would be better for the Aussie population to be friends with China and tell the yanks to get lost because all the yanks will bring to the table is war mongering .
200% because it’s not only warmongering but also death.
The Australian Government dosen`t have the population to finance such spending on weapons , the Aussi population is some 20 million so it will be the yanks who will be stumping up the cash .
Plucky little Australia, population about 25 million, is preparing to fight China, which has approximately 56 times more people. Not to worry, though. Australia has Big Brother US to assist and defend it.
Big Brother has about 1/4 the population of China and its mainland is 6K miles from mainland China and 7K from Australia.
China, of course, has by far the largest economy by purchasing power parity and the second-largest by nominal GDP.
“Amateurs study strategy, professionals study logistics.”
~Omar Bradley (probably not original)