Australia's New Strategic Review Has Big Implications.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

Australia's long-awaited Defence Strategic Review received relatively little attention in the U.S. press when it was released April 24, but the 110-page document spells out enormous changes for the Indo-Pacific region as well as a coming boon for the U.S. defense industry.

Billions of dollars will be flowing from Australia to U.S. contractors in the coming years as the nation realigns its posture from one that simply defended its homeland at its borders to a more proactive strategy that deters "through denial any adversaries' attempt to project power against Australia through our northern approaches," the strategy stated.

The new "denial" posture will require Australia to develop or acquire a host of new defense systems, the strategy said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Maries said, "The review is clear that we cannot waste any more time when it comes to acquiring critical defense capabilities."

Mark Watson, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Washington, D.C., office, said, "The alliance with the United States is front and center in this defense strategic review."

That shouldn't be too surprising as the nations--along with the United Kingdom--recently announced details of their $360 billion program to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, known as the AUKUS agreement, he said.

"It is more of the same, but it's a quantum leap or a stepping up of what that alliance means to Australia in terms of capability," he said in an interview.

It's not explicit, but the strategy is all about China, he added. The strategy doesn't really "hit readers with China over the head." In fact, the United States is mentioned more often as a partner than China is as a rival.

"But the reality is the United States and Australia have made the same strategic judgment that this is the most likely point of future major conflict," he said.

Among the key takeaways is the end of the so-called "balanced defense" posture where the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and Navy all received equal shares of the budget, he said.

The new buzzword is "focused force"--an Australian military that is aligned to take on the Chinese threat with more of an emphasis on navy and air force assets, long-range fires, long-range strike and military bases in the nation's north.

The "Army must be optimized for littoral operations in our northern land and maritime spaces and provide a long-range strike capability," the strategy...