WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2022) The Australian government is resolved increase the range and lethality of its defense forces in order to deter potential adversaries, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Monday.
"The government is resolved that Australia will take greater responsibility for its own security. We will make the investment necessary to increase the range and lethality of the Australian defense force so that it is able to hold a potential adversary forces and infrastructure at risk further from Australia," Marles said during an event organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The modernization of Australian defense forces will include adding long-range strike weapons, cyber capabilities and area denial systems tailored to preventing coercive or gray zone activities from escalating into conventional conflict, Marles said.
The deputy prime minister pointed out that a robust undersea capability is central to Australian deterrence effort.
The previous Australian government abandoned the $64 billion program to acquire up to 12 French-designed submarines. Instead, Australia reached an agreement with the United Kingdom and the United States within a trilateral security pact dubbed AUKUS. Under the pact, Washington and London pledged to help Canberra acquire nuclear-powered submarines. Former French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the move a "stab in the back."
