Albanese ducks as envoy goes on attack
Vladimir Putin’s top envoy to Indonesia says Russia views Australia as a ‘non-friendly state’ that sanctions its President.
Defence
Aussie tanks pledged to Ukraine stuck 15,000km from frontline
Forty-nine Australian Army tanks promised to Ukraine six months ago are yet to leave the country amid delays by the Trump administration in approving the deal.
Labor knew of Russian request for Indonesia base access in March
The Albanese government was aware before the election campaign started of a Russian request to use Indonesian airfields for long-range military aircraft only 1300km from Darwin.
Respect forged by family service
For Sam Willmott, enlistment was a fulcrum that shifted his understanding of Anzac Day, family and country.
Call-up for experts as Coalition pledges to give ADF some bite
A Dutton government would prioritise new strike and counter-strike weapons to deter more powerful adversaries.
Swan ‘bells the cat’ on Labor view of defence
ALP president Wayne Swan has come under fire for dismissing higher defence funding as unnecessary.
Poor uncle Reginald, his Gallipoli campaign lasted just a few weeks
A sister’s search for answers over a lost brother amid confusion over how and when he died: remembering one young soldier more than a century after he was killed.
PM digs in on exports to limit China’s influence
Anthony Albanese will move to make Australia a key supplier of critical minerals and rare earths to help ‘like-minded’ nations make weapons without relying on China, through a $1bn-plus strategic reserve.
Veteran says war is no place for today’s young
If World War II veteran Jim Grebert had his time over, he’d put an ‘old head on young shoulders’ and not march off to war.
Bravery runs deep in this unique family’s blood
The Forbes family is believed to be unique, with the National War Memorial saying it is unable to find any records of another family whose members include three Military Cross recipients.
Too little, too late: no defence for this
It’s still too little, too late and shrouded in the most cack-handed amateurism in delivery, messaging and substance you could possibly imagine.
Higher taxes ‘will fund military might’
Peter Dutton has revealed he will pay for his $21bn defence funding boost by hitting households with higher income taxes, amid blowback over his failure to say what new military capabilities a Coalition government would buy.
Coalition’s popgun policy lacking in credible detail
The Coalition’s defence policy is remarkably thin on detail and has come too late in the campaign to make much of a difference anyway.
Policy hits the target but why did they wait so long?
The Coalition has trumped Labor on national security with an audacious plan to sharply increase defence spending to recognise the dramatic deterioration in Australia’s strategic circumstances.
Revealed: Dutton’s $21bn march to a war footing
Peter Dutton will unveil his Defence plan today, pledging to pump at least $21bn more than Labor over five years, lifting military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030 and vowing to meet the Trump administration’s 3pc target within a decade.
PM’s ‘propaganda’ claim on Jakarta-Russia ties
Indonesia has declared it is on the verge of a major space partnership with Russia as Anthony Albanese dismissed Moscow’s growing strategic ties with Jakarta as “propaganda”.
Moscow comes mocking: Putin man’s wildcard warning to leaders
Moscow has warned Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton to stay out of its way in the Indo-Pacific, declaring Australia has ‘no cards’ to play to undermine Russia’s military co-operation with Indonesia.
Red flag on ALP’s intel iron curtain on Russia
The Coalition has accused Labor of a cover-up after it refused to grant a security briefing on Moscow’s bid to operate military aircraft out of Indonesia.
Why is Labor playing dumb on Russian plans?
Labor are making blind assurances on Russia and Indonesia that there’s nothing to see here. Don’t be fooled, don’t be reassured.
Marles making a mockery of caretaker conventions
There is no defensible basis to deny the Coalition an intelligence briefing on Russia’s interest in a military presence in Indonesia. I strongly suspect the Albanese government is trying to hide intelligence reporting.
‘Don’t take eye off opportunistic Russia’: former envoy
The nation’s former envoy to Moscow has warned that Russia was looking for opportunities to expand into the Asia-Pacific as Indonesia opened the door for visits for ‘peaceful missions’.
Indonesia ‘welcomes’ foreign militaries on ‘peaceful missions’
Indonesia’s foreign ministry speaks for the first time on Russia’s request to use a base in Papua, saying it will always ‘receive and permit’ foreign militaries on ‘peaceful missions’.
Defence treading water as costs soar
A new budget analysis reveals Labor’s claims to have massively increased defence spending are wildly overblown.
Indonesia a master of strategic ambiguity
Has Russia fallen for the subtle Indonesian art of strategic ambiguity in believing it might be in with a shot to base long-range aircraft in Southwest Papua’s Manuhua Air Force Base?
Coalition to put a rocket under defence spending with ‘significant’ boost
Peter Dutton says a Coalition government would spend more than Labor on defence and provide the money earlier.
Australia viewed as a ‘weak nation’ under Albanese: Dutton
The Opposition Leader has attacked the Prime Minister for his ‘lack of interest’ and inexperience in dealing with matters of national security.
Provocative Russian base request tests Indonesian ties
Any move by Indonesia would trash its cherished reputation as a non-aligned state, alienate close partners Australia and Japan, upset its ASEAN neighbours and open the floodgates to similar arrangements.
Political ‘clowns’ all talk on defence: former commander
Two of Australia’s most respected former military commanders have accused both sides of politics of failing to back their own warnings of urgent military threats with sufficient defence funding.
Russia’s base instinct: Shadow of Putin hangs over election
Indonesia has told the Albanese government that reports Russian aircraft would be allowed to operate from its soil were ‘simply not true’, after Moscow’s apparent bid thrust national security firmly back onto the election campaign.
Defence deficit: Coalition’s military pledge years away
Significant election pledges are threatening a substantial boost to the defence budget, amid warnings it could take a Dutton government until the early 2030s to drive military spending above 2.5 per cent of GDP.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence