Australian Defense Strikes Delicate Balance With China

2011-02-14 (China Military News cited from wsj.com and written by RACHEL PANNETT) -- At the Australian Defense Force Academy on the outskirts of the capital Canberra, nervous officer recruits prepare to swear an oath of allegiance before embarking on a three-year training program designed to equip them for the wars of the future. Unlike the major world wars of the last century, when Australia sent thousands of troops to fight in European wars and help defend Britain's declining influence in Asia, today's recruits are preparing for a strategic threat posed by the growing military influence of China across the Asian-Pacific region.
"China is emerging and there obviously is a lot of discussion about that," said Air Marshal Mark Binskin, chief of the Royal Australian Air Force, in an interview on the sidelines of the officer induction ceremony. "The focus for these graduates will be on the core issue, which is a stable and secure region. It is only through that all nations will be able to be prosperous and grow."

 Defense Ministers of China and Australia
Australian taxpayers are bankrolling the nation's biggest military expansion since World War II as Washington's grip on security in the Asian-Pacific region is increasingly challenged by China. In a bid to protect the vast borders of this isolated continent, Canberra plans to spend as much as 275 billion Australian dollars (US$276.27 billion) over the next 20 years on updating its military with the latest equipment including air warfare destroyers, submarines, naval frigates and a fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. Australia is one of only a handful of nations to commit to the ambitious JSF program led by the U.S. and U.K.; the group includes Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey and Norway.
The ramp-up in military spending to counter China's growing military sophistication conflicts with an economic policy that depends on the world's second-largest economy to buy its coal and iron ore. China is Australia's largest commercial partner, with two-way trade expected to exceed A$100 billion last year, from around A$85 billion in 2009. While emerging Asian economies like China now generate a huge slice of global growth, officials worry that economic development hides a still-fragile regional security architecture and unresolved territorial conflicts. Securing its maritime trade routes is a key strategic objective for Australia, as the country seeks to become the world's second largest shipper of liquefied natural gas after Qatar by the middle of decade.
Australian defense planners are concerned by China's enhanced technological capability and the country's ability to project its military power over long distances, potentially threatening Australian sovereign territory. China's development of a ballistic missile system-dubbed an "aircraft carrier killer" capable of flying through space and striking moving ships-and the country's deployment of about 40 advanced submarines since 1995 are amongst the biggest threats to Australia's security, say defense planners and experts.
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