Australia will seek to broaden and deepen its security ties with the US in the decades ahead as the rise of China and other Asia-Pacific powers risks fueling instability in the region, Australian Minister for Defence Kevin Andrews said yesterday.
Foreshadowing a strategic defense white paper due later this year, Andrews said world economic and military power was shifting to the Asia-Pacific.
“But growth in the region will be uneven and competition to exert more influence could generate instability,” he told US and Australian business leaders in Canberra.
“Also competing claims for territory and natural resources in the South China Sea will continue to be a source of tension in the region. Combined with growth in military capability, this backdrop therefore has the potential to destabilize the region and threaten Australia’s interests,” he said.
China has been increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, reclaiming land on islands and reefs under its control.
US President Barack Obama unveiled a strategic “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific in 2011, a move that was welcomed by Australia, but caused consternation in China.
Australia recognized that the US alliance “will remain fundamental to our security and defense planning and the highest priority of our international cooperation,” Andrews said.
Andrews is preparing to release a white paper that will provide a blueprint for Australia’s military as the government seeks to increase defense spending to 2 percent of GDP within a decade and purchase billions of dollars of weaponry, much of it from the US.
Australia is inviting bids for a A$50 billion (US$36 billion) contract to produce a submarine fleet in the largest defense procurement program in its history.
Meanwhile, at a briefing in Singapore, Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said the fleet is viewed as the “partner of choice” by many Asian nations because of uncertainty over China’s intentions in the South China Sea.
“Everyone wants a stable, prosperous China, clearly that’s what’s best for the region and that’s what’s best for the world,” Swift said. “But they want one that respects and honors the international norms, standards, rules and laws that have resulted in the stability that we’ve enjoyed over the last 70 years.”
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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