Defence spending boost forced by new world disorder
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton will be forced by seismic world events and by Donald Trump to place Australia on a fast-track to sharply increased defence spending.
Defence
Collins life-extensions a critical test, Marles warns
Richard Marles has warned planned life-extensions for the navy’s Collins-class submarines will be a high-risk endeavour but he believes the $6bn project is ‘do-able’.
Navy, air force have China ships in their sights
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the monitoring of the flotilla would provide insights into Chinese navy missions.
Australian, US subs sail out as Chinese flotilla nears WA
As the Chinese naval flotilla moved westwards along Australia’s southern coast, US and Australian submarines have been spotted on the move.
Little appetite for troops in Ukraine
More than two decades after Australia joined the US-led ‘coalition of the willing’ in Iraq, there is little enthusiasm among the nation’s political leaders for a similarly billed deployment to Ukraine.
Chinese ships go west as PM opens fire
Anthony Albanese has kept to criticism of the Coalition as three Chinese warships continued their circumnavigation of Australia.
Khaki poll: Dutton vows to buy more F-35s, blasts China drills response
A Coalition government would obtain an extra 28 F-35 joint strike fighters from the United States, Peter Dutton says, and boost the RAAF stealth jet fleet to 100.
China’s lap to test the navy’s stamina
The expected circumnavigation of Australia by three Chinese warships will test the navy’s ability to maintain constant surveillance of the vessels, experts warn.
Trump’s AUKUS embarrassment shows insignificance of deal to the President
Donald Trump’s inability to recognise the acronym AUKUS when asked about it in the Oval Office tell us a few home truths about where this deal – which is central to Australia’s defence planning – ranks in the President’s head.
Warship drill ‘not a real incident’
Defence Minister Richard Marles has defended NZ’s delayed warning to Australia on a live-fire drill by three Chinese warships, arguing that ‘it wasn’t a real incident’ and the response would be more urgent if there was a military threat.
China exposes PM’s lack of attention
Our ADF is in such a poor state that it couldn’t even keep on top of the activities of three Chinese ships between Australia and New Zealand. Anthony Albanese is not paying attention.
At times like this, PM can’t dither on defence
The Chinese live-fire controversy and events in Europe are a reminder of why the government should scrap its go-slow increase in defence spending.
Defence Force chief torpedoes PM’s version of events
Defence officials have revealed an ‘unprecedented’ joint surveillance operation tracking three Chinese warships only reported their live weapons drill an hour and a half after it started, contradicting Anthony Albanese’s version of events.
Albanese ‘misled public’ over China’s ‘notice’ of live fire drill
Defence officials have confirmed that the department learned of the drill only after a Virgin pilot relayed a warning broadcast it received in mid-air, despite the PM saying ‘notice was given’.
UK PM pledges massive defence spending boost
Keir Starmer will boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of the economy by 2027, as uncertainty reigns over Donald Trump’s commitment to European security.
Allies guarded on Beijing’s Pacific games
The arrival of American Coast Guard officers aboard one of their most formidable vessels was a display of security amid fears of rogue Chinese military activity.
Would-be recruits sound the retreat
Almost 90 per cent of applications to serve with the Australian Defence Force were withdrawn last year and the average processing time has blown out to more than eight months.
Virgin pilot relayed warning on Chinese live fire drill
Australian officials only learned of a live weapons drill by Chinese warships after a Virgin Airlines pilot passed on a radio warning he’d received 30 minutes after the exercise began.
ADF recruiter takes aim … and misses
A recruiter hired to fix a staffing crisis within the Australian Defence Force is almost 30 per cent behind target.
Beijing makes point with its ‘most potent’ warship
Beijing chose one of its most powerful warships for its show of force off Australia’s east coast, sending a stark message over China’s military might and its formidable industrial capabilities.
‘Hyped it up’: Beijing fires back over naval exercises
Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian on Sunday said the PLA had sent repeated safety notices before the drills and that his country was ‘strongly dissatisfied’ with Australia’s response.
Nation must defend itself in new world order
Australia needs to be able to defend itself in a world marked by both political and technological disruption, says one of the country’s leading defence industry figures.
‘Disconcerting’: Australia confronts China over live weapons exercise
The Albanese government has lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing over a live weapons drill between Australia and New Zealand, as the Defence Minister reveals China is yet to give a ‘satisfactory’ explanation.
‘PM’s jelly-back spinelessness’: China’s loud and clear message
Xi wants submission from Australia, not stability. Why make it easy for the Chinese navy? Let’s raise the cost to Beijing, not give it a free ride to demean us.
Sabre-rattling strengthens PNG ties
Australia’s biggest military exercise Talisman Sabre will be hosted in cooperation with Papua New Guinea this year amid moves to bind the nations’ military forces more closely than ever.
Labor at sea on Chinese warships: Hastie
The Coalition has accused the Albanese government of keeping Australians in the dark on Chinese ‘gunboat diplomacy’.
Chinese warships in show of force off coast of Sydney
A Chinese naval task group was sailing just 150 nautical miles off Sydney on Wednesday in an unprecedented projection of power.
Lights are flashing red across the board for Burgess
As if the world wasn’t bleak enough already. According to the nation’s intelligence chief, it is only going to get worse. There is no longer a single threat that stands out on the priority list.
Beijing ‘a threat to maritime safety’
One of Australia’s top naval officers has called out Beijing’s aggressive conduct in the South China Sea and the severing of undersea cables by Chinese vessels.
Japan intensifies frigate sales pitch with port visits
Japan is ramping up its bid to sell $10bn worth of new warships to Australia, dispatching one of its Mogami-class frigates for port visits to Darwin and Fremantle in coming weeks.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/page/6