‘The escalation has not finished': India-Pakistan tensions far from over
Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Shoebridge claims the escalation between India and Pakistan 'hasn't finished' as tensions continue to grow.
'The escalation hasn't finished … the most dangerous thing is what happens next after these Indian airstrikes,' Mr Shoebridge told Sky News host Andrew Bolt.
'At the moment, it's not really a military-on-military conflict, but that could happen as a result of what we saw today.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘It's not about numbers': Defence Minister Richard Marles pushes back against United States defence target demands
Defence Minister Richard Marles has dismissed suggestions that Australia should commit to a specific defence spending target. His comments come after the United States called on allies to raise investment to 3.5 per cent of GDP amid growing global tensions. Mr Marles told Sky News the Albanese government would determine its defence budget based on strategic needs rather than meeting any benchmark. 'We are clearly willing to have the conversation with America,' Mr Marles said. 'At the same time, we will make this decision about what we spend on defence based on our own national interests. 'It's not about chasing a particular number — it's about chasing capability.' US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recently urged Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, up from the 2.33 per cent projected by 2033. The United Kingdom has already pledged a "wartime-pace" increase in defence expenditure, targeting 3 per cent under Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Meanwhile, NATO members such as Germany and France have faced calls to lift spending to as much as 5 per cent. Despite the international push, Mr Marles insisted Australia was already undertaking a historic military investment program. 'We've engaged in the biggest peacetime increase in defence spending in Australia's history and that is a reflection of the very complex strategic circumstances that we face,' he said. 'We have gone through a process of assessing our strategic landscape, working out what is our strategic threat and what kind of a defence force do we need to build.' However, Defence Chief Admiral David Johnston told a defence summit on Wednesday that his department would likely ask for a funding boost in the next biennial review. 'The opportunity we have with the biennial cycle now is to keep coming back and reviewing the strategy,' he said. 'Looking at the opportunities or where the investments are required, putting the case to government to increase the defence expenditure where we believe it is needed.' Former prime minister Scott Morrison told Sky News he supported increasing defence spending to 3 per cent. 'I'm on the record for some time now of supporting a 3 per cent target and that target obviously has to be filled out with the right capabilities,' Mr Morrison said. 'This is a common requirement that has been put forward across all Allies and partners, not just Australia. 'The significant change we're seeing in the security environment necessitates such a strong response.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been expected to meet with US President Donald Trump at the upcoming G7 summit in Canada — their first face-to-face interaction. 'The Prime Minister has spoken with the President on a number of occasions,' Mr Marles said ahead of the anticipated meeting. 'I'm sure at some point there will be a face-to-face meeting. Our engagement with America matters though, and that's very clear.'
West Australian
5 hours ago
- West Australian
The US needs Australian beef for hamburgers, Littleproud says
Anthony Albanese should play hardball with the US on beef as tariff talks grind on, Nationals leader David Littleproud says. American beef imports have emerged as a key negotiating item in the Albanese government's efforts to secure a tariff carve out. The Trump administration has been pushing for Australia to loosen import rules to include beef from cattle originating in Canada and Mexico but slaughtered in the US. The Prime Minister has confirmed biosecurity officials were reviewing the request but vowed his government would not 'compromise' Australia's strict bio laws. But the prospect of changing laws has sparked unease among cattle farmers worried about keeping bovine diseases well away from the country's shores. With beef imports seemingly key to securing a US tariff exemption, Mr Littleproud on Monday said there needed to be some 'perspective'. 'The United States does need Australia and other countries to import beef to be able to put on their hamburgers,' he told Sky News. 'They don't have the production capacity to be able to produce the type of beef that goes on their hamburgers. 'So this is a tax on themselves that they put on Australian beef.' Despite being subject to the blanket 10 per cent tariffs on foreign imports, Australian beef into the US has risen by 32 per cent this year, according to Meat and Livestock Australia. Meanwhile, the cost of domestically produced beef within the US has been climbing, as cattle farmers struggle with drought. Mr Littleproud said the Nationals were not against importing American beef provided that it was from cattle 'born in the United States and bred all the way through to their slaughter in the United States'. But beef from cattle originating in third countries was a risk because 'we don't have the traceability that we have over the US production system'. 'And that's why Anthony Albanese needed to rule out straight away that he would not open that up to those cattle that were born in Canada, Mexico, or anywhere else in the Americas, because that poses a significant risk unless we can trace those cattle,' Mr Littleproud said. Mr Albanese has been clear in saying he would 'never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity'. But he has also said that if a deal can be struck 'in a way that protects our biosecurity, of course we don't just say no'. Mr Littleproud acknowledged Mr Albanese's words but said 'when you see reports from departments saying this is what's on the table in terms of negotiations – where there's smoke, there's fire'. In addition to the baseline 10 per cent duties on foreign goods, Australia has also been subjected to 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium. Only the UK has been able to secure a partial exemption from the Donald Trump's tariffs. A key UK concession was scrapping its 20 per cent imposts on American beef and raising the import quota to 13,000 metric tonnes. But with many British goods still subject to tariffs, analysts have questioned whether the deal was worth it. The US has trade surpluses with both the UK and Australia. Though, Australia also has a free-trade agreement with the US, meaning goods should be traded mostly uninhibited. The Albanese government has repeatedly criticised Mr Trump's decision to slap tariffs on Australian products as 'economic self-harm' and 'not the act of a friend'.
Sky News AU
18 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Australia's tax system should be made ‘more family friendly': Matt Canavan
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan says the tax system in Australia should be made 'more family friendly'. Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson has claimed the Coalition will be up for discussion on genuine tax reform. Mr Canavan told Sky News host James Morrow that the tax system doesn't 'encourage' Australians to spend more time with their children.
