By ROD MCGUIRK | Associated Press | Published: May 11, 2021 CANBERRA, Australia The Australian government released a big-spending economic plan for the next fiscal year on Tuesday that includes hefty investments in defense and national security as relations with China worsen. The government plans to spend $212 billion over the next decade on upgrading defense capabilities to “promote an open and peaceful Indo-Pacific,” Treasury Department documents say. The government announced in March that it would begin building its own guided missiles in close collaboration with the United States. The $784 million project would produce the first Australian-manufactured missiles since the 1960s. The government also plans to spend $1.02 billion over a decade to enhance the ability of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main spy agency, to address national security threats.
Australia plans big defense and security investments
Rod Mcguirk
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People run on the deck of HMAS Canberra during a drill at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney, Tuesday, May 11, 2021, as the government prepares to release its big-spending economic plan for the next fiscal year designed to create jobs and repair pandemic damage and with an eye toward winning votes at looming general elections. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the economy was already recovering from the pandemic and his economic blueprint for the fiscal year starting on July 1 would create more economic strength. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
2021/05/11 18:02 People run on the deck of HMAS Canberra during a drill at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney, Tuesday, May 11, 2021, as the government prepares to. People run on the deck of HMAS Canberra during a drill at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney, Tuesday, May 11, 2021, as the government prepares to release its big-spending economic plan for the next fiscal year designed to create jobs and repair pandemic damage and with an eye toward winning votes at looming general elections. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the economy was already recovering from the pandemic and his economic blueprint for the fiscal year starting on July 1 would create more economic strength. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)