Australia Reaffirms Defense Budget Plans
(MENAFN) Australia declared on Thursday that it would maintain its current defense expenditure goals, resisting demands from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been urging allied nations to decrease their dependence on Washington, according to local press reports.
Defense Minister Richard Marles, speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit held in the Netherlands, emphasized that Australia would independently determine its defense budget to align with its own security requirements, a news agency reported.
This stance could provoke criticism from Trump, who has issued warnings that allies unwilling to bolster their military budgets might face stricter trade arrangements.
Although Australia is not a NATO member, the alliance’s participating countries recently committed to lifting defense spending benchmarks to 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP).
However, Spain declined to comply, prompting Trump to threaten the country with harsher trade conditions.
Australia, which has outlined plans to raise its defense spending from 2 percent to 2.3 percent of GDP by the 2033–34 fiscal year, is concurrently trying to secure exemptions from U.S. tariffs on imports, particularly a 50 percent duty imposed on steel and aluminum.
“We have gone through our own process of assessing our strategic landscape, assessing the threats that exist there, and the kind of defense force we need to build in order to meet those threats, to meet the strategic moment, and then to resource that,” Marles stated.
“And what that has seen is the biggest peacetime increase in Australian defense spending,” he continued.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
