Doubts about Australia’s willingness to join forces with the US in a war against China are being cited by congressional researchers as a potential obstacle to the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal. A new research paper looks at the US plan to sell Australia between three and five Virginia-class submarines in the 2030s but suggests the idea “could weaken deterrence of potential Chinese aggression”. That stage of the deal aims to help Canberra bridge a “capability gap” before Australian-built nuclear-powered submarines begin to enter into service in the 2040s. The paper,…
Tag: Australian military
Daniel Duggan: US extradition case could be delayed due to fight over AFP and Asio documents
Lawyers for an ex-US navy pilot accused of training Chinese airmen say delays in obtaining crucial material from the government mean an upcoming extradition hearing will have to be delayed. Daniel Edmund Duggan, 55, was arrested in October last year after the US government accused him of arms trafficking by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012. He is also accused of money laundering while a US citizen. The father of six denies all the charges. Appearing at Downing Centre local court on Wednesday,…
Chinese intelligence expected to monitor Australia’s Talisman Sabre military exercises
The Australian defence force expects that Chinese intelligence will seek to monitor Talisman Sabre, a military training exercise involving 30,000 personnel from 13 countries including the US and Pacific neighbours. There is precedent for such monitoring attempts. In 2021, the Australian government said it was keeping an eye on the Chinese auxiliary general intelligence vessel Tianwangxing as it approached Australia’s east coast in the run-up to Talisman Sabre. Germany and Indonesia will be among the countries participating for the first time in Talisman Sabre. The two-week exercise begins on Friday…
Australia news live: Paul Keating’s blast at cabinet over Aukus revealed; Nazi symbols ban
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China’s ambassador to Australia says Aukus an ‘unnecessary’ use of taxpayer money and ‘not a good idea’
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has denounced the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine plan as an “unnecessary consumption of the hardworking Australian taxpayers’ money”. Xiao said the multi-decade defence plan would consume “tremendous” amounts of money “which could be used for other purposes like infrastructure, like reducing the cost of living, and giving the Australian people a better future”. Xiao made the pointed remarks during a press conference at the Chinese embassy in Canberra on Thursday, when he suggested further improvements in the diplomatic and trading relationship were possible but would…
Australia’s plan to confront the changing face of warfare – podcast
The defence strategic review has found that the Australian defence force is ‘not fully fit for purpose’ and recommended projecting military power further from its shores. Foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst talks to Jane Lee about the future of the ADF How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know The Guardian
Beijing says don’t ‘hype up the so-called China threat narrative’ after Australian criticism
The Chinese government has urged countries not to “hype up the so-called China threat narrative” after a major Australian defence review criticised its activities in the South China Sea. The Australian government’s defence strategic review, released on Monday, labelled the intense competition between China and the United States as “the defining feature of our region and our time”. The public version of the final report did not label China a direct military threat to Australia, but said its assertion of sovereignty over the contested South China Sea “threatens the global…
Australia’s defence force is expected to get its biggest overhaul in decades. Here’s what we know so far
Australia’s national security environment is about to get a major shake-up. The defence strategic review ordered by the Albanese government – and what the government plans to do about it – will be publicly released on Monday in what is being touted as the biggest defence overhaul in nearly four decades. Ordered just 73 days into the Albanese government, the review was conducted by the former chief of defence Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston AK AFC and former Labor defence minister Prof Stephen Smith. They handed their completed review…
War of words: Australia can expect a hostile response from China to strategic defence review
Australia’s strategic defence review, to be made public on Monday, is likely to spark a hostile response from China and set off a new round of claim and counterclaim about the precarious relationship between the two countries. Sir Angus Houston, the former head of the Australian military who led the review with the former defence minister Stephen Smith, said when it was launched last year the strategic circumstances were “the worst I have ever seen in my career and lifetime”. “Clearly, our circumstances have changed dramatically over the recent past.…
‘Path of error and danger’: China angry and confused over Aukus deal
When the UK, the US and Australia announced the details of their multibillion-dollar deal to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines on Monday, the reaction in China was both outrage and confusion. The allies were “walking further and further down the path of error and danger”, said Wang Wenbin, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, on Tuesday. The Chinese mission to the UN accused the three countries of fuelling an arms race. The deal, which will provide Australia with at least three nuclear-powered submarines, is designed to counter the rising threat of China…