An 'ambitious' China, nuclear risk: Australia's landmark defence review explained

A report tipped to shape Australia’s military strategy for decades has been released.

The report says Australia needs to respond to China's military build-up. Source: AAP / Dave Hunt

KEY POINTS:

• Australia's missile capabilites are set for a major upgrade after strategic review's release.
• The report warns China's military build-up is unparalleled since World War II.
• The document says there is a 'strong sense of urgency' to respond.

A landmark report has warned China's military build-up in Australia's region is unparalleled since World War Two, and there is a "strong sense of urgency" to respond.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned "we cannot fall back on old assumptions" as he announced major upgrades to Australia's long-range missile capability, along with changes to Australian Defence Force (ADF) infrastructure.

The long-awaited Defence Strategic Review has found the threat of land invasion launched by a foreign power remains "remote", but described China's military build-up in the region as the "most ambitious of any country" since the 1940s.

The review, released on Monday, stresses a "strong sense of urgency" to respond to deteriorating circumstances in Indo-Pacific, and warned rapidly expanding cyber and missile capabilities do pose a threat to Australia.

Mr Albanese described the review, widely viewed as shaping Australia's military strategy for the coming decades, as the most significant work done by Defence since the 1940s.

"This represents a document for today and tomorrow ... It demonstrates a world where challenges to our national security are always evolving. We cannot fall back on old assumptions," he said.

Here are the four key takeaways.

China’s unparalleled ambition

China’s military buildup is unparallelled, and is setting it on a collision course with the United States.

The document mentions China nine times, framing Beijing’s competition with Washington as the “defining feature of our region and our time”.

The review says China's military build-up is the most ambitious by any country since World War Two. Source: AAP

It describes China’s military build-up in the Indo-Pacific as the “largest and most ambitious of any country since the end of the Second World War”.

“This build-up is occurring without transparency or reassurance to the Indo-Pacific region of China’s strategic intent,” it says.

“China’s assertion of sovereignty over the South China Sea threatens the global rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific in a way that adversely impacts Australia’s national interests.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles insisted a stable relationship with Beijing would be to both parties' benefit.

"Australia will continue to cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, manage our differences wisely and above all else, engage and vigorously pursue our national interest," he said.

'Risk of nuclear escalation'

Australia’s geographical benefits have “radically” shrunk, and we’ll have less warning.

The reviewers warn of “the most challenging circumstances in our region for decades”, and warn "the risk of nuclear escalation must be regarded as real".

The review calls for a drastic expansion of Australia's missile capabilities. Source: AAP / Aaron Favila

Australia’s isolation meant that, in the post-World War Two period, Defence believed it would have a decade’s notice for planning and capability development.

The region now includes actors able to project power across five domains: maritime, land, air, space and cyber.

And while the report accepts the possibility of a land invasion remains “remote”, it warns of economic coercion and threats to Australian trade routes

“Cyber warfare is not bound by geography. The rise of the ‘missile age’ in modern warfare, crystallised by the proliferation of long-range precision strike weapons, has radically reduced Australia’s geographic benefits,” it says.

The review has ditched the ten-year warning assumption, which has been broken down into three: the three-year period (2023-2025, for threats which must be addressed urgently), the five-year period (2026-2030), and the period 2031 and beyond.

Long-range missiles, major alterations to the Army

As the threat changes, so must the ADF.

“The ADF as currently constituted and equipped is not fully fit for purpose,” the report says.

Australia’s missile capabilities are set for a major upgrade, the review calling for its weaponry to become more long-range and more lethal.

Its missiles can currently strike targets at a maximum of 200km, but the review is calling for an immediate five-fold increase to 1000km.

In total, the government has committed $19 billion over the next four years.

But there’ll be cuts to offset that expenditure, of around $8 billion.

Labor says the previous government launched “artificial” projects which cost money, but had no strategic value. More than 30 will either be shrunk, delayed, or axed entirely.

But shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie described the timing of the announcement as "tricky politics".

"The Albanese government is using Anzac Day as a smokescreen, hoping the Australian people would not notice some of these trade-offs and cuts to capability," he said.

Climate change

Use policy, not troops, to combat climate change.

ADF troops have been repeatedly deployed on home soil, responding to a series of natural disasters, including the Black Summer Bushfires and multiple floods on the NSW north coast.

Defence Minister Richard Marles says a stable relationship with China is in everyone's interest. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

It says Defence transitioning towards clean energy would bolster Australia’s resilience to natural disasters, as would efforts from governments of all levels to combat climate change.

And the ADF troops should only be deployed to local natural disasters when there is no other option.

“Defence should be the force of last resort for domestic aid to the civil community, except in extreme circumstances,” it says.