Amid China-US tension, Australia plans $190bn defence boost

AUSTRALIA’S Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday announced $190 billion in additional defence spending over the next decade.

The defence boost includes the procurement of advanced long-range strike weapons for the first time, as well as test long-range hypersonic weapons.

The announcement, which is part of the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, signals “a key change in Australia’s defence posture, as it prioritises the Indo-Pacific region,” Morrison said, warning that the post-pandemic world will become more dangerous.

“The simple truth is this. Even as we stare down the Covid pandemic at home, we need to also prepare for a postCovid world that is poorer, more dangerous, and more disorderly,” the prime minister said in Canberra.

The announcement comes as Canberra’s relationship with Beijing, its most important economic partner, is under serious strain, with allegations of espionage and cyber attacks.

Though Morrison did not specifically say threats from China had led to the increased spending, he said Australia needed to prepare as the

“Indo-Pacific is the epicentre of rising strategic competition.”

He also said relations between China and the United States “are fractious at best as they compete for political, economic and technological supremacy.”

The deterioration in the relationship was creating “a lot of tension in the cord,” including the risk of heightened conict, Morrison said.