Will we be prepared and ready to respond? Does distance still protect our North or will missiles and long range strike close the gap? ⬇️
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) has an excellent new report titled ‘Indo Pacific Stronghold’ that examines Australia’s strategic context and how advances in military technology is closing the geographical gap:
“The threat to Australia is likely to grow as China expands its long-range strike capability, although the character of that buildup will be shaped by the cost of long-range missiles and bombers relative to shorter range strike systems. China could also increase its ability to project power against Australia and reduce Australian warning time through forward basing, either from its artificial features in the South China Sea, from naval forces operating in Australia’s vicinity, or from facilities on Pacific islands.”
Shortly after the release of the CSBA report, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) published a timely infographic article outlining how China has developed its artificial islands in the South China sea as force projection bases and further highlights how warning time and the advantage of distance to our defence is disintegrating:
“China has built a 3,200-hectare network of island military bases in the South China Sea, some of which are now capable of launching nuclear bombers, intelligence reveals.”
All the more reason to accelerate the preparedness of our Northern bases and infrastructure. In the last great war in our region Darwin was attacked with the same ferocity as Pearl Harbour. Townsville and Broome were also bombed. Long range strike has become far more sophisticated and the Homeland far more vulnerable to sabotage and opportunistic attack. We’ll wrap it up with a final quote from the CSBA report:
“Transforming northern Australia into an Indo-Pacific stronghold will require Australia to invest in creating an expanded and resilient defense infrastructure suited to the demands of 21st century warfare, acquiring a tailored long-range strike portfolio, and enhancing Australia’s ability to sustain operations in a protracted conflict.”
Food for thought.
🖼️ via Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) and links to the report and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) article mentioned are in the comments.