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On April 28 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that his government will apportion $747 million ($580 million American) to upgrade four military bases in the north of the country and to increase and expand war games with the U.S.
The steady, though largely unnoticed emergence of Australia as a regional and in many ways global military power over the past twenty years remains unacknowledged until a story like this one occasionally surfaces.
From military deployments to Fiji in 1987 (Operation Morris Dance), Timor-Leste in 2006 (Operation Astute) and Afghanistan after 2001 (where at one point Australia was the largest non-NATO troop contributor to the International Security Assistance Force) to the assignment of Australian naval vessels to U.S.-led and NATO operations around the world, to being one of the first partners in the in the F-35A Lightning II project, Australia proves daily that it aspires to be a mayor military power.
Australian government upgrades northern military bases following “drums of war” call
Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday announced a revamped $747 million package to overhaul four strategic military facilities in the Northern Territory, clearly in preparation for a US-instigated war against China.
The announcement came just two days after Home Affairs Department secretary Michael Pezzullo issued an extraordinary public warning that the “drums of war are beating” and the country must be prepared “to send off, yet again, our warriors to fight,” as in World Wars I and II.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopter and an Australian Defence Force MRH90 land at Sam Hill Airfield in Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area in Central Queensland (Source: Australian Department of Defence)
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed $747 million in upgrades to military bases used for wargame exercises to prepare Australia in the face of an uncertain world and region.
The investment will upgrade four military bases in the Northern Territory to make improvements to training areas used for combat training, including for joint war-gaming exercises with US troops and other allies.
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Mr Morrison said he was committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific to prepare Australia in the face of the current geopolitical environment. Our objective here is to ensure a peaceful region, but one that at the same time Australia is in a position to always protect, he told reporters in Darwin.
Upgrade of Northern Territory defence facilities announced by Scott Morrison
News by James Morrow
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Subscriber only Australian troops will be better prepared to see off foreign threats and integrate their training with key allies including the US, thanks to a $747 million investment in key Northern Territory defence facilities. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce the massive cash injection on Wednesday to boost key ADF training facilities across the Territory, providing for upgraded firing ranges, weapons training simulation, combat and urban shooting ranges, aviation facilities, support facilities, and accommodation. Â Â The investment, which comes on the heels of Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo s warning earlier this week about the increased danger of international conflict, will bolster the ADF s ability to maintain a secure and open Indo-Pacific region.
Game on: PM s new $747m defence pledge | Morning Bulletin themorningbulletin.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from themorningbulletin.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.