A great short read from Mick Ryan, AM on how Australia should invest if the Government chooses to match the NATO 3.5% of GDP standard. ⬇️
The ask from our principal security partner in the United States is that Australia takes a far greater share of the burden. This has been a universal push with NATO and allies such as Japan and South Korea in the Indo-Pacific.
Beaten Zone Venture Partners advisor Mick Ryan, AM addresses how Australia should focus any increase in funding to better prepare our nation for these uncertain times:
“Australia’s ally, the United States, has demanded that Australia spend more on defence. The Americans, while a long way from drawing down their presence in the Pacific, are reportedly considering a shift to hemispheric defence in their 2026 National Defence Strategy. Australia will therefore need to do much more for itself and its neighbours, to deter aggression and fill the gaps of an American military stretched to its limit in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.”
The Interpreter article argues for investment across four key areas; building our mobilisation base, speeding up ADF workforce expansion, scaling our industrial base and re-introducing a form of national service. It also argues for our current national defence strategy to be delivered in full:
“The 2024 National Defence Strategy described the priorities: submarines; precision, long-range strike capability (including producing munitions in Australia); enhancing northern bases; growth in Defence people; new technologies for the ADF; and engagement in the Indo-Pacific. These priorities should be fully funded.”
Much remains uncertain in our current Defence settings. The Strategic Review of the ADF Reserves, The Defence Estate Review and indeed the next cycle of Defence Strategic Review, Integrated Investment P and Defence Industrial Development Strategy are all in development or awaiting decision for implementation.
In terms of manpower only in the twilight of the Cold War did Australia’s Reserve component become smaller that our Regular component. The larger your reserve, the more force you can mobilise without needing to recruit and train civilians from scratch. Of note is that Australia has raised a military capable of supporting a large regional war without a form of national service in a century!
A quality op-ed that we hope Mick Ryan, AM expands out into a larger paper at some stage!
📷 via Lowy Institute The Interpreter