The challenging strategic environment in the Indo Pacific—characterised by Beijing’s increasing aggression toward its neighbours and influence among Pacific nations—means Australia is gearing up for a programme of continuous naval shipbuilding, says Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy, who told the Indo Pacific Conference that Australia was focused on procurement speed.
The strategy is a reaction to events such as the circumnavigation of Australia by a Chinese flotilla, which carried out a live fire exercise, and the firing of flares near an Australian plane by a PLA jet fighter, which was the second such incident in as many years.
