The Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison announced today that his government intends to dramatically increase the size and capabilities of the country's military by 2040.
On the basis of the plan that is drawn up, Australian Defence Force personnel will increase by approximately 30% by 2040, from 60,000 to almost 80,000 members in 2040. The cost of this boost will be at least A$38 billion (over €25 billion).
«Our world is becoming increasingly uncertain, so it is important that we take action now to protect our citizens and our national interests in the decades ahead,» Morrison told reporters during a visit to a military base in Brisbane.
«We will not leave our defence tasks to others (...) we will carry them out ourselves», the conservative prime minister insisted.
It would be the largest increase in the size of the army «in peacetime» in Australia's history, he added.
According to Defence Minister Peter Dutton, increasing the size of the Australian military is necessary to secure the country in its strategic environment, to protect its interests by strengthening its «credible» military force.
On Monday, Mr Morrison announced that a nuclear submarine base would be built in the east of the country to enhance strategic deterrence capabilities. It would be regularly visited by US and British submarines, he added.
In the summer, the US, Britain and Australia announced that they are forming a new trilateral «alliance». There is virtually no doubt that Washington, London and Canberra have in mind dealing with what they call China's military threat in the South China Sea - the Indo-Pacific region, in US parlance.
