Australian government unveils new military doctrine

Australian government unveils new military doctrine

The Australian government on Monday unveiled a major overhaul of its military doctrine. This measure is explicitly aimed at deterring China from using force in the Indo-Pacific region and more broadly at limiting its growing influence there. This complete overhaul also aims to allow Australia to depend less militarily on the United States and to contribute more directly to maintaining freedom of movement in the Indo-Pacific region.

From our correspondent on site, Gregory Plesse

This is the major change introduced by the doctrine which has just been presented by the government in Canberra: no longer considering that defending Australia amounts simply to preventing the invasion of its territory by a foreign power.

From now on, the Australian army will have to defend its interests well beyond its maritime territory. Out of an announced envelope of 19 billion dollars, a large part will be devoted to the acquisition of long-range missiles, its navy and the strengthening of military bases located in the north of the country.

This development is justified by the strengthening of Beijing’s military capabilities, which the Australian Ministry of Defense describes in its report as a threat to world order.

For Malcolm Davis, of the Australian Institute of Strategic Policy, the idea is not to attack China, only to dissuade it from attacking neighboring countries.

No one is proposing to invade China or take a stand in central Beijing. The idea is to prevent China from using force in the Indo-Pacific or from being able to respond to Chinese threats to Taiwan.

This new strategy revolves in particular around the acquisition of long-range strike capabilities. This military equipment program is in addition to the development, announced a few weeks ago, of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines as part of the Aukus pactconcluded between Australia and its closest allies, the United States and the United Kingdom.

► To read also: AUKUS nuclear submarines: the IAEA vigilant on the risks of proliferation

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