Australia aims to go big in defence

PM: Strategy is meant to create high-tech jobs, not a response to any threat

CANBERRA: Australia’s government has announced a strategy to create high-tech jobs and become one of the top 10 defence industry-exporting countries within a decade through arms sales to like-minded nations, while also keeping those weapons from rogue regimes.

Australia will create a A $3.8bil (RM11.9bil) fund to lend to exporters that banks are reluctant to finance, as well as a central defence export office, and expand the roles of defence attaches in Australian embassies around the world.

Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull said yesterday that with A $200bil (RM628bil) budgeted to increase its defence capabilities in the next decade, Australia should rank higher than 20th among arms-exporting countries.

The planned Australian military build-up was the largest in its peacetime history, he said.

“Given the size of our defence budget, we should be a lot higher up the scale than that. So, the goal is to get into the top 10,” Turnbull told reporters.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said Australia would focus on growing sales to its biggest markets, including the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, which already import Australian- made equipment, including the Bushmaster armoured vehicle and the Nulka missile decoy.

The five nations belong to an intelligence-sharing network called the Five Eyes.

“We want to support the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, our European friends and allies, Japan, South Korea, etcetera, in what is a building up of the global military capability of countries like ourself who support the rules-based international order,” Pyne said.

“The defence export strategy is not designed to get into markets where we don’t want to be. It’s designed to maximise the markets where we perhaps haven’t been making the most of our opportunities,” he added.

Turnbull said the strategy was about creating high-tech Australian jobs and not a response to any national threat, such as increasing tensions and the Chinese military build-up in the South China Sea over competing territorial claims.

“Apart from North Korea, there is no country in the region that shows any hostile intent toward Australia,” Turnbull said.

“We don’t see threats from our neighbours in the region. Nonetheless, every country must always plan ahead and you need to build the capabilities to defend yourself, not just today, but in 10 or 20 years hence.”

The push to increase Australian defence manufacturing jobs came after General Motors Co in October became the last automaker to quit building Australian cars.

Most of the new Australian defence spending is on submarines and frigates that will be largely built in Australia.