Australia to acquire ‘smart’ sea mines to ward off China

AUSTRALIA will accelerate plans to buy advanced sea mines to protect maritime routes and ports from “potential aggressors” amid China’s intention to boost its influence in the Pacific region.

The “smart” sea mines are designed to differentiate between military targets and other types of ships, a defence department spokesman said yesterday.

“A modern sea-mining capability is a significant deterrent to potential aggressors,” he added.

The Sydney Morning Herald said Canberra would spend up to A$1billion (£568.5million) to procure the hi-tech underwater weapons.

The federal government will soon announce a contract to buy “a substantial number” of sea mines from a European supplier, the report said, citing defence industry sources.

Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, told ABC television he would not “pre-empt those national security issues”.

“What we need is to make sure we have the best possible defences. So we have looked at missile defence, we’re looking at cyber security, we’re looking at all of these issues,” Mr Albanese said.