Australia to boost its defense budget by $32B over next decade

ANKARA

Australia announced Wednesday it is increasing its defense budget by 50 billion Australian dollars ($32 billion) over the next decade and will also rethink AU$72.8 billion in planned spending.

Under a new defense strategy, the government defense budget is expected to reach AU$330 billion in the next 10 years, which also includes the initial coast for nuclear-powered subs under the AUKUS partnership – including the US, UK, and Australia – ABC News reported.

With new investment, Australia’s total defense spending will reach 2.4% of GDP within the next 10 years.

Announcing the strategy, Defense Minister Richard Marles said the changes are designed to ensure that peace, security, and prosperity are maintained in the region.

"The inaugural National Defence Strategy sets out a clear and priority-driven approach to protecting against threats to Australia and our interests," the broadcaster quoted Marles as saying.

He added that the main objective of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership is to protect trade routes.

The main intention of redirecting funds is to make the Australian Defence Force "more amphibious," including by spending on the AUKUS submarine program (AU$53-$63 billion over the next decade) and on new long-range strike and targeting missiles, including Tomahawk missiles (AU$28-$35 billion over the next decade)," said Marles.

Last month, Australia entered its largest single defense export deal to date of over AU$1 billion ($664.5 million) with Germany to supply armored vehicles.

Earlier, Australia also announced it was building the biggest navy since World War II while spending over $7 billion to double the size of its fleets of major warships and modernize its navy.

In 2021, the US, UK and Australia announced the formation of AUKUS, a trilateral security treaty for the Indo-Pacific region. It is primarily aimed at boosting deterrence against China, which they say is growing more assertive in the region.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid