'Can't fall back on old assumptions': Australia releases new defense review

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) — Australia released a major Defense Strategic Review on Monday as Prime Minister Antony Albanese declared that the country "cannot fall back on old assumptions."

"We commissioned the Defense Strategic Review to make sure Australia is more secure ... Because national security is every government's most solemn responsibility," said Albanese.

Australia sees China's military build-up in the region as "unparalleled" since World War II, and felt "a strong sense of urgency to respond," according to the details of the review shared on local broadcaster SBS News.

"We cannot fall back on old assumptions," Albanese said, calling the document "most significant work done" since World War II.

China, with which Canberra has recently improved ties, including by resuming military dialogue, is referred to at least nine times in the document.

Canberra is planning major upgrades to its long-range missile capabilities, along with changes to the Australian Defense Force (ADF) infrastructure.

The threat of land invasion by a foreign power remains remote, said the document. However, it described China's military buildup in the region as the "most ambitious of any country” since the 1940s.

- China-US competition

Australia sees China-US competition as the "defining feature of our region and our time," according to the document.

"China's assertion of sovereignty over the South China Sea threatens the global rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific in a way that adversely impacts Australia's national interests."

Still, Defense Minister Richard Marles acknowledged that "a stable relationship with Beijing would be to both parties' benefit."

"Australia will continue to cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, manage our differences wisely and above all else, engage and vigorously pursue our national interest," he told a news conference alongside Albanese.

Besides calling for "an immediate" five-fold increase in the range of missile capabilities to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), the document also warned of "real risk of nuclear escalation."

Referring to cyber warfare as a threat "not bound by geography," it warned of "economic coercion and threats to Australian trade routes."

The document also seeks change in Australia's response to climate change, urging deployment of soldiers only as a last option.

"Defense transitioning towards clean energy would bolster Australia's resilience to natural disasters, as would efforts from governments of all levels to combat climate change.

"And the ADF troops should only be deployed to local natural disasters when there is no other option ... Defense should be the force of last resort for domestic aid to the civil community, except in extreme circumstances," the document said.