China hits back after Australia unveils major review of Defence Force

Beijing has hit back after Australia unveiled plans for a $19bn, once in a generation overhaul of its Defence Force.

China has hit back after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released plans for a major overhaul of the Australian Defence Force. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Beijing has returned fire after Australia unveiled plans to overhaul its armed forces, accusing its southern neighbour of hyping up a “China threat” as an excuse to expand its military.

In its first response after the federal government released a declassified version of a once in a generation review of the Australian Defence Force, Beijing said its own military build-up had been purely “defensive in nature”.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the Asian superpower was committed to peace and stability in both the Asia-Pacific and “the wider world”.

“We do not pose a challenge to any country,” she told reporters on Monday.

“We hope certain countries will not use China as an excuse for military build-up and will refrain from hyping up the ‘China threat’ narrative.”

The government’s Defence Strategic Review identified China’s unprecedented military expansion as one of the main reasons Australia needed to pursue a $19bn revamp of its own armed forces.

“China’s military build-up is now the largest and most ambitious of any country since the end of the WWII,” the document says.

“This build-up is occurring without transparency or reassurance to the Indo-Pacific region of China’s strategic intent.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled a historic review of Australia’s armed forces. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The independent review, led by former chief of defence Sir Angus Houston and former defence minister Stephen Smith, urged Australia to prepare its Defence Force for a possible conflict between China and the United States.

It named “intense” China-US competition as the “defining feature” of our region and our time, saying major power competition had the potential to threaten Australia’s interests including through conflict.

But the report also noted a stable relationship between Australia and China was in the interests of both countries and the broader region.

“Australia will continue to co-operate with China where we can, disagree where we must, manage our differences wisely, and, above all else, engage in and vigorously pursue our own national interest,” it said.

The Albanese government has been working hard to repair relations with China, our largest trading partner, in an effort to have Beijing remove sanctions on Australian goods worth an estimated $20bn a year.

Defence Minister Richard Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not mention China in their lengthy press conference unveiling the Defence Strategic Review in Canberra.

Defence Minister Richard Marles, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy, Mr Albanese, and Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell presented the review in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Asked directly about China later on Monday, Mr Marles insisted Beijing’s military expansion wasn’t the only reason for Australia’s security shake-up.

“That is part of the landscape in which we live and it forms part of the assessment that we make about what we need to do to make ourselves self reliant in our strategic posture,” he told ABC’s 7.30 program.

“But it’s far from the only factor here. And fundamentally, what we’re about is providing for the collective security of our region.”

Defence will have six new priorities – developing Australia’s nuclear powered submarine capability and longer range strike capacity, speeding up the integration of new technologies into the military, workforce retention and recruitment, and improving strategic co-operation within the Indo-Pacific.

The government has said the response to the strategic review will cost $19bn over the next four years, which includes the $9bn in spending already announced to fund the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines.

About $7.8bn of that will come from savings made through the gutting, delaying or cancelling of a number of projects.