Latest news with #RichardMarles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia should surge defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, Pentagon says
SINGAPORE — The United States is urging Australia to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, almost a third above the target Canberra has set even for the early 2030s, the Pentagon said Sunday. 'On defense spending, [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth conveyed that Australia should increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of its GDP as soon as possible,' the statement read, referring to a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles. The two defense chiefs spoke on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense summit in Singapore. In a speech describing the Trump administration's approach to Asia, Hegseth said the military threat posed by China 'could be imminent' and called on U.S. allies in the region to drastically increase defense spending. Marles said Hegseth had raised the topic in their meeting but didn't specify a rate. 'I don't think it's about a particular number,' Marles said in an interview. 'America has clearly been articulating that they want their friends and allies to spend more.' During his speech, Hegseth pointed to NATO countries' recent push to reach defense budgets closer to 5% of GDP — a share the Pentagon's head of policy has repeatedly said should be the standard for U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific. 'We ask, and indeed we insist, that our allies and partners do their part,' Hegseth said. Still, the varying signals have left some U.S. allies confused and frustrated at the repeated public calls from Washington to spend more. Australia already plans to raise its defense budget to 2.4% of GDP by 2033-34, up from the about 2% it spends now. Defense analysts largely see the Pentagon's statements as a way for the Trump administration to create negotiating leverage — shifting the window of acceptable spending numbers for allied governments. But some also warn it could backfire if the public in other countries starts to see these calls as strong-arming. 'We do understand where America is coming from and we're up to the conversation,' Marles said. 'But ultimately, the decisions that we make around defense spending are going to be driven by Australia's national interest.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Albanese again pushes back on US demand for Australia to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP
Anthony Albanese has again sidestepped US calls for Australia to drastically increase its defence budget, now by about $40bn more each year, amid warnings from the Trump administration over China's plans. The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, met with Australia's defence minister, Richard Marles over the weekend in Singapore as part of the Shangri-la Dialogue. In a readout of the meeting released Monday morning Australian time, Hegseth conveyed that Australia should increase its defence spending to 3.5% of its GDP 'as soon as possible'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Australia is on track to lift defence spending from about $53bn a year, or around 2% of GDP – to an estimated $100bn, or 2.4% of GDP, by 2033-34. An additional annual spend of around $40bn would be required by 2033-34 to reach 3.5% of GDP. Hegseth on Saturday urged countries in Asia to 'share the burden' and lift defence spending to 5% of GDP, warning 'Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific' in a speech at the conference. It followed months after Pentagon undersecretary Elbridge Colby told a US Senate hearing that the US wanted Australia to reach a 3% defence spending threshold. Albanese was asked on Monday to respond to the US's calls for Australia to pour billions more into its defence budget, to meet a higher spending target. The prime minister asked: 'Which one?' 'There's been a range of [spending targets] going forward. What you should do in defence is decide what you need, your capability, and then provide for it. That's what my government is doing,' he said. 'What we need is things that defend us in real terms, and that's what we'll provide.' The prime minister had stood firm on Sunday, saying in response to a similar question about Hegseth's Saturday comments: 'We'll determine our defence policy.' Also speaking on Sunday, Marles said the issue of defence spending was a conversation he was 'totally up for'. 'The Americans have been very clear about wanting to see more from their friends and allies around the world. It's a sentiment that we understand,' Marles said at a press conference in Singapore. 'We have already engaged in the last couple of years in the single biggest peacetime increase in defence expenditure in Australia's history. So we are beginning this journey. We've got runs on the board. 'And indeed, if we look at Aukus, I mean, Aukus is something which is seeing our defence expenditure increase – as it should – and so we actually are taking steps down this path.' In February, Australia paid $US500m ($AUD790m) to the US as part of the first instalment in a total of $US3bn pledged in order to support America's shipbuilding industry. At the time, Marles said Aukus was 'a powerful symbol of our two countries working together in the Indo-Pacific'. Albanese is expected to meet Trump in person for the first time since both leaders were re-elected, on the sidelines of the G7 leaders' summit in Canada this month. The two leaders are expected to discuss defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the US's doubling of tariffs to 50% on steel and aluminium imports, including from Australia, beginning this week.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Australian Deputy PM Marles to visit India this week
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will visit India this week as part of a four-nation trip that is aimed at boosting Canberra's security cooperation with South and Southeast Asia. The Deputy Prime Minister's visit to India coincides with the fifth anniversary of the firming up of the Australia and India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which underpins the two countries' relationship and shared vision for the Indian Ocean, an Australian readout said. Mr. Marles will travel to South and Southeast Asia from June 2 to 5 for high-level meetings, the readout said. He is also Australia's Defence Minister. Besides India, Mr. Marles is also scheduled to visit the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. 'Australia values our relationships with neighbours in the Indo-Pacific. Our deepening cooperation is at the heart of Australia's approach to ensure the Indo-Pacific remains open, inclusive and resilient,' Mr. Marles said. Beyond Border-Gavaskar: On India-Australia trade agreement 'I look forward to meeting leaders and welcome productive discussions on how we can work together to shape a peaceful, secure, and prosperous region that is respectful of sovereignty,' he said. Mr. Marles will be the first senior Australian Minister to visit India after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese retained power for a second term following his Labor Party's victory in the parliamentary election. India and Australia signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in 2022 and are negotiating a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA).
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Warning to Australia over fears China's military actions could trigger 'nuclear cascade'
Alarm bells are ringing over the Chinese-led military build up taking place in Australia's region, with fears a "nuclear cascade" could unfold as more nations seek to obtain weapons of mass destruction. Australia's Defence Minister has warned about an Indo-Pacific arms race, but at the same time has signalled Australia preparedness to increase military spending. Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles has warned of the developing dynamic of China's arms build up and Russia's strategic ties with North Korea, saying the arms control framework previously developed by Western allies to combat nuclear proliferation during the Cold War might not be enough to meet today's challenges. The US called on Australia to increase defence spending as leaders met over the weekend at Asia's top security summit in Singapore. Mr Marles noted that Australia's defence budget will rise to about 2.3 per cent of GDP within the decade, from the two per cent it currently hovers at, saying the planned expansion represented the "single biggest peacetime increase in defence expenditure in Australia's history". "So we are beginning this journey," he said. The former Fox News host and now US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has personified the changing nature of the White House after the re-election of Donald Trump, but his message on China has been broadly the same to his predecessor, says Ely Ratner, the former Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs under the Biden administration. But he warned of a growing threat to stability in the region. "I think it is very complicated by the fact that China is undergoing the largest peacetime military build up in history," he told ABC radio on Monday. "They haven't explained why they think they need such a large arsenal of nuclear weapons and they're putting real pressure on other countries both in the region and in the world when it comes to nuclear weapons. It is quite a destabilising military build up we're seeing from China. He said the challenge is not just about how to manage nuclear armed nations like India and Pakistan which have been involved in recent skirmishes, but how to stop more nations feeling like they need to acquire them, leading to "the potential of nuclear cascades". "If China grows its nuclear arsenal to such a size that countries like South Korea … and then potentially others start thinking they might need their own nuclear weapons, then we're in a much more dangerous world," he warned this morning. When asked if allies like Australia could trust the Trump administration is committed to defence in the broader Indo-Pacific region, Mr Ratner said "I think for the time being the broad answer is yes". He added that he didn't believe China was more likely to invade Taiwan due to President Trump being in office, saying the Asian giant was in a "wait and see mode". Speaking at the summit on Saturday Mr Hegseth called on allies in the region to share the burden of deterrence by upgrading their own defences. "There's no reason to sugar coat it," he told the Shangri-La Dialogue. "The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent", suggesting an invasion could take place within the next two years. Responding to questions from reporters on Sunday, Mr Albanese said Australia's position on Taiwan was "very clear" and included a bipartisan stance to support the status quo. China views Taiwan as its own territory, and slammed the US as the biggest "troublemaker for regional peace and stability". with AAP Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Epoch Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
US Defence Secretary Urges Australia to Raise Defence Spending to 3.5 Percent of GDP
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has urged Australia to substantially boost its defence spending to align more closely with the United States' strategic objectives in the Pacific region. During a meeting with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 30, Hegseth said the investment would help 'maintain peace through strength' in the Indo-Pacific.
