US reliance threatens defence capability, Liberals warn
A senior Liberal has called on the country to boost its own security to balance relations, warning that growing reliance on the US as an ally is endangering the capabilities of Australia’s dominant defense industry.
Speaking at the Robert Menzies Institute in Melbourne on Thursday, opposition sector spokesman Andrew Hastie said Australia was making “strategic trade-offs” as it doubled down on its alliance with Washington.
“This has cost us sovereign capabilities such as a strong defense industry and our freedom to act strategically in ways we are now exploring,” he said.
“We forgot the hard lessons of war and turned our security over to the United States.”
Mr Hastie cited the fuel crisis triggered by conflict in the Middle East and Australia’s deindustrialization as examples of the country’s over-reliance on US dominance.
Australia must urgently invest in its industrial base and defense force if the security alliance with the US is to continue for another 75 years, the Liberal frontrunner and former special forces officer said.
“We must expand our industrial power and hard power,” he said.
Some security experts have expressed concern that the nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines promised under the AUKUS agreement will not be sold to Australia as US shipyards come under increasing pressure.
Citing the Trump administration’s announcement that the US military would no longer be used to “promote cloud fortress abstractions” such as the rules-based order, Mr Hastie said Washington should not be expected to guarantee much other than its own strategic interests.
“President Trump confirms this fact almost daily with strong messages about America’s traditional allies,” he said.
“This means Australia needs to get serious about our own national security.”
The US president used social media to publicly criticize Australia and other partners for their reluctance to militarily support the war against Iran.
