Australian Defence Force not ready to defend nation, says senator Jim Molan

Liberal senator and retired major-general Jim Molan has warned Australia is poorly prepared for a ‘likely’ war in the ­region.

Senator Jim Molan says the Australian Defence Force is not large or strong enough to defend the country against a ‘peer opponent’.

Liberal senator and retired major-general Jim Molan has warned Australia is poorly prepared for a “likely” war in the ­region, and cannot rely on the US being “there to save us”.

Writing in The Australian on Monday, Senator Molan declares the ADF is not large or strong enough to defend the country against a “peer opponent” such as China, and “if we don’t prepare now, we are culpable”.

Senator Molan, who is on leave battling cancer, says he is pleased that others are “finally beginning to hear the sound of war drums”, after Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo’s warning last week of the growing risk of conflict.

“Many ordinary Australians, not just those who personally ­experienced global conflict, are awakening to the sombre reality that war is not just possible in our region, but likely,” he writes.

“Action must be shaped not by the mere existence of a threat, but by the nature of that threat. To acknowledge a threat generically then return to routine business is, in the great tradition of the 20th century, culpable ignorance.”

His comments come as opposition defence spokesman Brendan O’Connor declared on Sunday that Labor was open to lifting the defence budget to meet new strategic threats.

“If there has been material change to the circumstances in the region, then there may well be a need to increase defence spending, but that’s the sort of advice that the opposition would need to be briefed on by the government,” Mr O’Connor told the ABC’s Insiders program.

But he said the government must first get its future submarine and frigates contracts back on track and extend the life of the Collins-class boats.

Senator Molan, who led multinational forces in the Iraq War, says Australia is unlikely to face a direct attack in a war ­between the US and China. But it will be “more than likely” to ­experience a cyber, sea mine, or missile attack in such a conflict.

“Subsequent military action depends upon who wins the main battles and whether the US is forced out of our region,” the NSW senator says. “The US is not confident it can win, given its reduced world military capability since the end of the Cold War. We might be on our own.”

He says believing “the US will always be there to save us” is “the modern equivalent of the fatally flawed Singapore strategy” of World War II.

He said Australia should be able to defend itself “as well, if not better” than Israel, which has made itself more secure over decades despite being surrounded by foes. But the nation needs to face “tough questions”, or it will be unprepared for what lies ahead, Senator Molan says.

“Many estimate that we have three to five years before conflict begins,” he writes. “Even in five years, the ADF will not be strong enough, big enough nor able to fight for long enough against a peer opponent.