Academic warns NQ miliary bases not prepared for China threat

North Queensland’s ageing military bases are playing “catch-up” and work is required to counter the growing threat of China, an academic has warned.

NORTH Queensland’s ageing military bases are playing “catch-up” and work is required to counter the growing threat of China, an academic has warned.

JCU Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations Dr Anna Hayes likened geopolitical tensions with China to a new Cold War and said strong military deterrence was needed to prevent conflict.

“The writing has been on the wall for a while now that maybe we are not as close friends as we thought we (were),” she said.

Her comments come as the wait continues for critical multimillion-dollar repairs which are needed to keep critical Defence assets in North Queensland up to scratch.

Work proposed as part of the $111.2 million North Queensland Mid-Term Refresh Program remain in the tender process four years after it first went to tender.

Alaskan based paratroopers from US Army's 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, are dropped at the Townsville Field Training Area, by an Australian Army CH-47 Chinook, during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021.

Documents submitted to government last year said the city’s RAAF base, Townsville Field Training Area and the HMAS Cairns had aged and inadequate infrastructure that was not compliant with relevant standards.

The submission from the Department of Defence said the ability to train troops and effectively support military operations risked being compromised if infrastructure and capacity could not be relied on.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attend pictured in 2019. A leaked draft security agreement between the countries has raised alarm in Australia. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)

An EOI for the major contractor role closed in December last year but information on Aus Tender shows no contract has been awarded with this anticipated next month.

Dr Hayes expressed concern about the bases failing to meet some basic safety standards.

“Expansion of Australia’s northern bases is highly likely on the cards and I would argue, is necessary,” Dr Hayes said.

“It’s important that people within northern Australian recognise what’s at stake and that deterrence is a critical element in maintaining peace within our region.”

Australian Army Bushmaster's from Battlegroup Coral, conduct a forward passage of lines at the Townsville Field Training Area during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021. Picture: Corporal Brandon Grey

Dr Hayes said capacity expansion in the form of personnel, specialist weapons systems, vehicles, ships and aircraft across Australia’s northern bases was needed to counter future threats in the Indo-Pacific.

“To prepare for peace, history has shown us, that sometimes you need to prepare for war,” she said.

“We have to make the cost of a regional conflict so great that Beijing is actually deterred from taking any aggressive actions that it may have been planning.”

Dr Hayes said military expansion would ideally include acquisition of long-range precision strike capabilities, offensive cyberattack capabilities and the development of an Australian-based guided weapons manufacturing enterprise.

“For at least the past decade, Australia’s fixation on domestic matters, including the revolving door of Prime Ministers, has come at a great cost,” she said.

“We lost sight of changes in our region and changes in the global order that we really needed to be paying attention to.”

Originally published as Academic warns NQ miliary bases not prepared for China threat