Dutch defence chief warns Australia to increase military capability

Australia Broadcast Center

20-07-2025

The Netherlands' chief of defence has warned Australian leaders the country needs to counter China's military rise by increasing its own defence capability.
General Onno Eichelsheim, visiting Australia for the Talisman Sabre defence exercises, warned the threat posed by China to the Indo-Pacific is not unlike that Russia poses to Europe.
And he says "naivety" should not allow Australia and other countries to avoid preparing for the risk of conflict in future.
"You should look at the facts that are around you … if Russia tells us that they want to have more, more influence, than take that seriously," he said.
"And if you see in this case in this region, China building up, take it seriously and get ready for something that you hope will never happen.
"If you prepare for war, you can avoid war. And that's how we look at it."
The Netherlands recently agreed to lift its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of its GDP, alongside most other NATO countries.
The decision came in part due to pressure from the United States for NATO countries to provide more for their own security.
Australia has faced its own pressure from the United States to lift defence spending to the same level.
General Eichelsheim said 3.5 per cent of GDP would provide the Netherlands with the capability the country needs, given the security situation in Europe.
He said while the focus on GDP percentages was not important, there was no doubt Australia would need to do more.
"It's not about the percentage, it's about the capabilities," he said.
"But inevitably, I think Australia has to increase its capabilities as well, if you look at the region, and the build-up in this case of China.
"Also, if they need to help out Europe, which [Australia is] actually already doing — if you look at the war in Ukraine, and supporting us there."
In April General Eichelsheim issued an order to the country's 76,000 defence personnel, both uniformed and civilian.
The top-ranking Dutch military official warned they needed to increase their readiness and be ready for rapid deployment.
He said the message was sent for two reasons: that a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine might need to be protected, and that it might lead Russia to shift its attention elsewhere.
"We know that [Russia has] the ability, if there is a ceasefire, they can move within one or two years to other locations where they can threaten, for instance, the Baltic States," he said.
"So we need to be ready to defend that line as well. And that is not that much time, to be honest."
The Netherlands is one of 19 countries taking part in the Talisman Sabre defence exercises, which are jointly organised by Australia and the United States.
The Dutch defence personnel taking part are also joined by other European militaries like France, Germany and Norway.
Asked why the Netherlands is taking an interest in the region, and how he views the security situation in the Indo-Pacific, General Eichelsheim said he has real concerns.
"We worry about the amount of capabilities that China is building up," he said.
"Those are not capabilities that you only use for protecting yourself. There are also quite a lot of offensive capabilities in it.
"Leaving it only to the US versus China is also not a good idea — so we've increased our partnerships a lot with Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and also the Philippines."
The Albanese government has pushed back on the United States' calls for significant increases in defence spending, arguing spending is already rising quickly.
The prime minister has argued Australia will set its own defence policy, and made the case that specific capabilities should be funded, rather than funding targets set and pursued.
Asked about whether pressure might come from other allies rapidly increasing defence spending as a share of GDP, Defence Minister Richard Marles said those countries can see what Australia is doing.
"We understand there is a process of international benchmarking, but ultimately every country, when it goes through its own processes about what kind of defence force it needs to build, does so based on assessing its own strategic need," he said.
"And that's exactly what we're doing and I think countries can see that we are engaging in that process, it's an ongoing process and a process which up until this point has yielded the biggest peacetime increase in Australia's defence spending."