Australia has outlined a more assertive defense posture that will see the country prioritize new technologies as well as maritime and long-range strike capabilities as it prepares to combat threats faster, further away and alongside regional partners amid concerns over China’s rapid military build-up.
In a declassified version of the country’s new Defence Strategic Review (DSR) — its first in almost 40 years — Australia concluded that it must “re-posture,” as it is no longer as protected by its geography and the limited ability of other nations to project power as the world enters the "missile age."
Australia’s current defense posture is “no longer fit for purpose” in the circumstances it now faces, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Monday, noting that this is why “we are recasting the mission of the Australian Defense Force (ADF).”