Analyst : Australia Set to Boost Military Spending by $11billion a Year

17 Maret 2021

RAN fleet of the future (image : NavalAnalyses)

Australia will boost its military budget by more than $11 billion a year by 2025 to defend itself against possible war with China, analysts predict.

Defence spending was about $40.1 billion in the 2020 financial year and this is predicted to rise sharply to $51.26 billion five years later.

Tensions are still rising with China in an ongoing trade war Beijing started almost a year ago after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for a coronavirus inquiry.

China and Australia also have fundamental disagreements on human rights, Taiwan, and the country's increasing expansionism in the Asia-Pacific.

Business analysis firm GlobalData predicts in a new report that the rising threat of China will push Australia to dramatically increase spending.

'China's military assertiveness in the South China Sea and expansion of spheres of influence in the surrounding region through commercial avenues such as pipelines and ports is supposedly creating a threat for Australia,' defence analyst Vera Lin said.

'Australia is preparing itself for the possibility of conflict with a greater military power, which requires a focus in long-distance deterrence such as ballistic missile defense and investment in hypersonics research.'

GlobalData's report said Australia's security focus was shifting to its region instead of far-flung places like the Middle East, in response to China.

'Strategic priorities are focusing on deterring potential conflict with a greater military power in the immediate region,' it read.

Over the past 11 months Beijing's opaque regime has used unofficial bans and arbitrary complaints to punish Australia over a series of diplomatic spats. 

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