Australia is offering to change its strategic and defence role to become even more absorbed into the US armed forces.
The army will be reshaped as auxiliary of the US marines and a defender to some extent of US bases in northern Australia. The navy “platforms” will be restructured to fit US navy doctrines. Not much has been mentioned of the airforce, but it too will become more part of the US war fighting machine.
As a proportion of the US defence budget, Australia’s fiscal commitment is a drop in the American bucket. Last month the Biden Administration submitted to Congress a proposed fiscal year 2024 budget request of $US842 billion for the Department of Defence, an increase of $US26 billion over FY 2023 levels and $US100 billion more than FY 2022.
Such a devastating blow to Australia’s economy is never mentioned in these strategic reviews – economics and national security remain in un-cooperating silos. Varghese is particularly troubled by the assumptions inherent to the DSR. He agrees the document is right to see US-China strategic competition as the primary strategic dynamic of the region. But his rider is crucial.
On whether the White House would be taken aback by the DSR’s blunt assessment that the US is no longer Asia’s unipolar leader, Green believes two important factors make it “palatable for Washington”.
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