Natalie Barr demands answers on threats facing Australia as Albanian government increases defense spending by $50 billion

The Albanian government has been pressured to justify a $50 billion funding increase for the defense forces over the next decade.

Defense Minister Richard Marles on Wednesday unveiled the new national defense strategy and investment programme, which includes naval upgrades.

The spending increase will provide an additional $5.7 billion over the next four years and increase defense funding to 2.4 percent of GDP by 2033/34.

It will be the largest growth in military spending since 1949, and comes despite massive borrowing and spending that has triggered runaway inflation and subsequent interest rate increases.

During an interview with Marles on Sunrise, host Natalie Barr asked, “Who else are we protecting ourselves from besides China?”

‘In our region, we are seeing the largest conventional military buildup since World War II, which is China; That is an inescapable fact.

Marles said the spending was necessary in a region that is “less secure” because China claims territory, and trade routes must be protected because of that expansionism.

Barr said others have argued this spending should have been done sooner.

‘A former senior bureaucrat wrote a defense document 15 years ago and basically sounds like he’s furious that no one listened to him. That was in 2009,” he said.

‘He said: “Both sides of politics here should be judged harshly because no one listened.”

‘Do you accept that? You say we’re starting from scratch here?

Marles placed blame on the previous government, including the failed French submarine contract.

“There was no doubt that when we came into office we were faced with an enormous number of challenges,” he said.

‘TThe best time to act on this would have been ten years ago, but the second best time to act is now, and that is what we are doing.’

China has criticized the government’s plans and urged Australia to abandon its “Cold War mentality”.

“We hope Australia will correctly view China’s development and strategic intentions, abandon the Cold War mentality, do more things to keep the region peaceful and stable and stop talking about China,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesperson. China, Lin Jian.

Security risks in the Indo-Pacific came from “major countries” outside the region, Lin said.

‘They have been forming exclusive groupings, stoking bloc confrontation and, in particular, muddying the waters in the South China Sea, as if the world needed more instability. “China is firmly opposed to it,” he said.

Defending the initiative, Marles said it was “ridiculous” to suggest Australia was trying to match the strength of China and the United States in the Indo-Pacific.

‘You are talking about great powers and clearly we are not seeking to be peers of the United States or China. That’s why…the commentators who went down that road, frankly, lack ingenuity,” he said.

The defense strategy includes a push to expand recruiting eligibility to not citizens but Mr Marles said this “won’t happen overnight”.

“It’s reasonable to describe that in terms of years,” he told ABC National Radio on Thursday.

“Considering certain classes of non-Australian citizens as potential recruits for the ADF in the future is an important step we will need to take if we are to meet the challenge of growing our defense force to 2040.”

Marles said the government’s immediate challenge was to improve conditions for Australians currently serving or considering joining the ADF.

“What we’re doing now is trying to streamline hiring to make it a better deal for Australians and that’s really having an impact,” he said.

The Defense Minister said there had been a fall in the number of personnel leaving the army and that recruitment figures were beginning to improve.

Speaking at the National Press Club, Marles said the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who call Australia home was an obvious place to start.