() – Australia on Tuesday announced plans for the biggest increase in its fleet since World War II, allocating more than $35 billion to the defense project over the next 10 years, in a move analysts said points to increased tensions with China. in the Indo-Pacific.
According to a government statement, the plans will see the Royal Australian Navy increase its fleet of large surface warships to 26 in total, after an independent review led by a retired US Navy admiral concluded that “the fleet of current and planned surface combatants is not adequate for the strategic environment we face.”
“A strong Australia depends on a strong navy, equipped to conduct diplomacy in our region, deter potential adversaries and defend our national interests when necessary,” Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, head of the Australian Navy, said in the statement.
“The size, lethality and capabilities of the future surface combatant fleet ensure our Navy is equipped to meet the evolving strategic challenges of our region.”
The plan to bolster the fleet includes 20 destroyers and frigates, and six Large Optionally Manned Surface Vessels (LOSVs), which can operate with sailors on board or independently as drones.
These surface ships will join a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines that Australia plans to build under the Aukus pact with the United States and the United Kingdom, the first three of which are expected to be delivered early in the next decade. .
The independent review noted that Australia had “the oldest fleet the Navy has operated in its history,” according to the government statement.
And analysts said the security environment in the region, where rival China has built the world’s largest navy and is asserting territorial claims in disputed waters, was forcing Australia to take action.
Collin Koh, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said increasing the size of the Australian fleet “is essential if there is a need for capacity to meet the growing set of mission requirements, especially the projection of the presence across the Indo-Pacific.”
Although China is not mentioned in the expansion plan, the review commission stated that the future surface fleet needed the ability to “support critical activities, such as patrolling our northern approaches, close escort and maritime transport missions in the operations center ”.
And analysts pointed to possible threats from China.
In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Jennifer Parker, Associate Professor of Naval Studies at UNSW Canberra, said: “It probably indicates how concerned both the Government and Defense are about our strategic circumstances.”
“There are many who claim that by the end of the 2020s we are entering a period of risk in the Indo-Pacific, generated by the increase in China’s aggressiveness both in the South China Sea and in Northeast Asia” , he added.
Once completed in the mid-2040s, the naval build-up will result in a fleet with the current three Hobart-class guided missile destroyers, which will receive upgrades to their air defense and strike systems; six new Hunter-class frigates with anti-submarine warfare and strike capabilities; 11 new general-purpose frigates for anti-aircraft defense, attack and escort; and six of the new LOSVs, which will each have 32 Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells for missiles.
Another 25 smaller ships will be used for offshore patrols and maritime security duties, according to the government.
Faced with the urgency of improving the country’s surface fleet, the government declared that the first of the 11 general-purpose frigates would be built from an existing design imported from Japan, South Korea, Germany or Spain, and that the work They would later be moved to an Australian shipyard.
In the ABC interview, Parker said the plan involved a “period of risk” for Australia as some of the older ships will be retired before the new ones come into service.
John Bradford, international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Australia would have to stick to the plan.
“The plan is realistic as long as the Australian Government remains committed to this effort,” said Bradford, adding that the first of the Hunter-class frigates, which he called the “core system” of the plan, will not be incorporated into the fleet until 2032.
Opposition MP Andrew Hastie, shadow defense minister, criticized the timing of the expansion.
“We won’t see a ship in the water until 2031, assuming this plan stays on schedule. “It does not respond to the urgent strategic challenges posed by this dangerous world,” Hastie told reporters.
Analysts noted that when the ships enter service, they will need sailors to crew them, something that is not guaranteed.
“Even with the high levels of automation presented by these planned newbuild vessels, what will happen to the crew? “Will (the Navy) face a manpower challenge to man this expanded fleet?” Koh asked.
But the government said the expansion “requires a minimal increase in manning due to rationalization of crew sizes and greater reliance on technology and automation.”
In its announcement on Tuesday, the government also highlighted the economic benefits of the expansion.
“This investment provides a clear pathway for the South Australian and Western Australian shipbuilding industry and workforce,” the statement said.
Defense Minister Pat Conroy said shipbuilding would create 3,700 jobs over the next 10 years and thousands more in the future.
However, the opposition party, the Greens, called the plan a “multi-million-dollar mistake” motivated by local political concerns to protect shipbuilding jobs… and politics.
“No matter how many times Defense leaders fail, both by overcharging and under-delivering, they keep their jobs and are rewarded with billions more in public money,” the Greens’ Defense spokesperson said in a statement. Senator David Shoebridge.
– ‘s Angus Watson and Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report.
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