Latest news with #MalcolmDavis
News.com.au
a day ago
- Business
- News.com.au
ASPI senior defence analyst says Australia needs to be prepared for ‘protracted war'
A senior security expert has warned of the 'very clear threat' of China invading Taiwan, urging Australia to upgrade its defence capabilities and warning that Australia 'needs to be ready for the prospect' of war. Malcolm Davis, a senior defence strategy analyst at conservative think tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, urged the government to increase spending to safeguard against China's rising aggression and influence in the Pacific. The comments come as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Australia to uplift its spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, with levels currently set to increase to 2.33 per cent by 2033-34. Australia's defence budget is expected to come under further scrutiny with Anthony Albanese expected to have a face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of this weekend's G7 Leaders Summit in Canada. Speaking to Sky on Monday, Mr Davis agreed with comments from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and said there was 'very clear threat that China is going to move on Taiwan within the next to three years'. He said Australia needed to ensure that our military assets were up to the task of responding to a 'protracted war,' flagging the need for improved resilience against 'integrated air and missile defence systems'. '(Defence spending) needs to include sustainability and building sustainability for protracted war that could last months or years in our region, and ensure that we can stay in the fight, a high intensity fight, for that period of time,' he said. 'And it includes preparedness and essentially, the ability to respond to challenges and attacks on our society and our country. 'I think that we do need to be ready for the prospect that if war does happen, Australia will be attacked directly.' Mr Davis said the spending needed to be accelerated 'not in 10 years' but in a 'year or two,' adding that investment needs to also be 'smart and targeted'. The defence expert also said critical infrastructure in Australia's north, like RWF Tindall, ports, oil and energy facilities were all 'essentially undefended'. 'The government talks about building integrated air and missile defence systems, and they have developed the command and control system for that, but they don't have any missiles to shoot with,' he continued. 'They talk about possibly using a naval based missile or an air based missile, but those platforms have to be in the right place at the right time.' Although Defence Minister Richard Marles has left the door open for further discussions with the US, stating that the government was 'clearly willing to have the conversation with America,' he said the outcome will be based on Australia's 'national interest'. 'We will work it through from there and make sure that we do the appropriate defence spending based on meeting the strategic moment,' he told Sky. Mr Albanese has recently clashed with the conservative think tank after it released a report stating a 'generational investment' in defence has been 'put off for another generation'. Report author and former home affairs deputy secretary Mark Ablong said a failure to boost defence 'will make all Australians less secure,' and 'risks a brittle and hollowed defence force' and a 'paper ADF'. However Mr Albanese rubbished the report as 'predictable' and political and stood by the government's plan. 'ASPI regularly produce these sort of reports, you know, run by people who have been in a position to make a difference in the past as part of former governments,' he told ABC radio. 'You know, I think it's predictable, frankly.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Top military expert issues dire warning about Australia's defence over fears China is gearing up for huge strategic move on our doorstep
A leading security analyst warned Australia's military bases and critical infrastructure are 'unprotected' from foreign aggressors and called for urgent upgrades. Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, claimed the Albanese Government has overlooked serious gaps in Australia's defence network. In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Mr Davis highlighted the urgency of drastically increasing the Australian Defence Force's budget in light of instability in the Indo-Pacific region, specifically the 'very clear threat' of China invading Taiwan. 'Right at the moment, all our critical infrastructure in the north of Australia is essentially undefended,' he said. 'The government talks about building integrated air and missile defence systems, and they have developed the command and control system for that, but they don't have any missiles to shoot with. 'The reality is that all that critical infrastructure of the north or the air bases such as RAAF Tindal, ports and other oil facilities and energy facilities are all undefended.' China has been ramping up its efforts to grow influence over the Indo-Pacific since the 2010s when it began creating armed artificial islands in the South China Sea. The Chinese Communist Party's intent to shift from a diplomatic player to a strategist became clear in 2019 with Kiribati and the Solomon Islands both switching its policies regarding Taiwan to side with China. Defence Minister Richard Marles (right) met with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) last month and heard urgent calls for Australia to increase its military spending Since then the Chinese People's Liberation Army has extended its presence in international waters, including an excursion down Australia's east coast by three Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy ships. Analysts now believe China will start an invasion of Taiwan within the next decade. Australia's military budget was questioned by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth last month with the American calling for it to be increased to three per cent of GDP. Labor's existing policies promise just 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033. During a meeting with Defence Minister Richard Marles in Singapore, Hegseth said Australia's military spending should be at least 2.5 per cent of GDP as the risk of a conflict on its north border was increasingly likely. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed the US' concerns and said Australia would 'determine our defence policy'. 'We've invested an additional $10 billion in defence,' he told a press conference at the time. 'What we'll do is continue to provide for investing in our capability but also investing in our relationships in the region. Labor's existing policies allow for 2.33 per cent of GDP to be dedicated to the Australian Defence Force by 2033 'Our position with regard to Taiwan is very clear, has been for a long period of time, which is a bipartisan position to support the status quo.' Mr Davis urged the Albanese Government to reconsider its defence spending and invest in 'resilience against attack'. 'It needs to include sustainability and building sustainability for protracted war that could last months or years in our region and ensure that we can stay in the fight, a high intensity fight, for that period of time,' he said.
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
'Undefended': Defence expert Malcolm Davis' shock claim about key Australian bases, critical infrasturcture
A leading security analyst has made the shock claim many of Australia's key military bases and critical infrastructure is essentially "undefended". Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, warned the government risked leaving the nation exposed in the even of a conflict unless defence spending was rapidly raised to cover capability gaps. The Albanese government has come under increasing pressure to address shortfalls in the Australian Defence Force, including from the United States government. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth used a meeting with Defence Minister Richard Marles to demand the government raise outlay to at least 2.5 per cent of GDP, while other experts have pressed Labor to go as high as 3.5 per cent given the increasing risk of regional conflict. Speaking to Sky New Australia, Mr Davis noted China was expected to invade Taiwan within the coming decade, a move which would likely place the ADF in the firing line and necessitate robust defences in the country's north. The ASPI analyst claimed such defences were severely lacking at present, suggesting some of Australia's most vital assets were badly exposed. "Right at the moment, all our critical infrastructure in the north of Australia is essentially undefended," he said. "The government talks about building integrated air and missile defence systems, and they have developed the command and control system for that, but they don't have any missiles to shoot with. "They talk about possibly using a naval-based missile or an air-based missile, but those platforms have to be in the right place at the right time. "So the reality is that all that critical infrastructure of the north or the air bases such as RAAF Tindal, ports and other oil facilities and energy facilities are all undefended." In light of the "very clear threat" posed by China, Mr Davis urged the government to dramatically ramp up spending on defence in order to ensure the nation remains secure. "We need to go to a floor of 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence spending as soon as possible and that means not in 10 years, it means in a year or two," he said. Under Labor's current plan, spending on defence will not reach 2.5 per cent of GDP until some time after 2033 and there is no clear timeline to increase investment to three per cent or beyond. While Mr Davis acknowledged increased spending could not just "be money thrown at the Department of Defence", he argued smart investment into long-term resilience was vital. "That defence spend needs to increase our resilience against attack, that includes integrated air and missile defence systems," he said. "It needs to include sustainability and building sustainability for protracted war that could last months or years in our region and ensure that we can stay in the fight, a high intensity fight, for that period of time."
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
China has its own ‘strategic agenda' when it comes to their trade war with the US
ASPI Senior Analyst in Defence Strategy Malcolm Davis claims the phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping has 'not at all' cooled tensions between the leaders amid their tariff war. 'No matter what the Trump administration says to China … China has its own strategic agenda,' Mr Davis told Sky News Australia. 'Trump very well may go to Beijing ... but at the end of the day, Chinese are still going to make their moves in the Indo-Pacific.'
Sky News AU
02-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Australia ‘not ready' for short term defence threats
ASPI Senior Analyst Malcolm Davis says Australia needs to be 'prepared' for national security risks in the short term. Mr Davis told Sky News host Chris Kenny that the Albanese government is 'pushing back' all the defence spending increase into the 2030s. 'We're not ready for those threats in the short term.'
