Over the past decade, Australia’s strategic situation has gotten worse due to Beijing’s expanding ambitions and the growth of Chinese military power to back them up.
In Indo-Pacific Stronghold: Northern Australia’s Role in the Australia-U.S. Alliance, CSBA’s President and CEO, Thomas G. Mahnken, argues that Australia is located in a geographic sweet spot. It is far enough from China to avoid having to face the volume of missile fires that confront Taiwan and Japan while being close enough to the scene of potential conflicts, such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, to be operationally relevant.
Mahnken argues that Australia is to remain a gateway to the Indo-Pacific region, it must be fortified into a stronghold. Northern Australia in particular is a critical piece of real estate with strategic relevance. Northern Australia can serve as a venue where friendly forces train and experiment in peacetime, as the base from which they deploy, and as a hub that sustains them in wartime.
Transforming northern Australia into an Indo-Pacific stronghold will require Australia to invest in creating an expanded and resilient defense infrastructure suited to the demands of 21st-century warfare, acquiring a tailored long-range strike portfolio, and enhancing Australia’s ability to sustain operations in a protracted conflict.
With China’s expanding reach and the growing possibility of conflict, Australia can no longer ignore the possibility that it will be attacked. Australia’s strategic geography still works in its favor, but the resources available to meet the threat are limited, as is the time available to do so. As a result, the Australian government needs to act quickly to implement a handful of mutually supporting initiatives that will, collectively, turn Australia into an Indo-Pacific stronghold.