Defense Secretary Peter Dutton said Tuesday that accelerating the re-equipment of fighter jets and warships would cost A $ 3.5 billion ($ 2.6 billion) and increase Australia’s deterrence against potential adversaries. “There was a working hypothesis that an offensive from China to Taiwan could take place in the 2040s. I think that timetable has now been dramatically reduced,” Dutton told Seven Network. “When we see what happened in Ukraine, there is a prospect of a Russian going to Poland or somewhere else in Europe. “This would be a repeat of the 1930s and this is not something we should allow to happen.” According to a revised schedule, the FA-18F Super Hornet fighter jets will be armed with improved US-made air-to-surface missiles by 2024, three years ahead of schedule. JASSM-ER missiles would allow the fighters to engage targets within a range of 900 kilometers (560 miles). Australia’s ANZAC-class frigates and Hobart-class destroyers will be equipped with Norwegian Kongsberg NSM missiles by 2024, five years ahead of schedule. The missiles would more than double the strike range of the warships. The new re-equipment timetable comes after the Solomon Islands announced a draft security agreement with China. Under its terms, China could send military personnel to the South Pacific islands to help maintain order for other reasons. It could also send warships to the Solomons for intermediate stations and to replenish supplies, which had led to speculation about the possibility of a Chinese naval base there. China has denied that it is seeking a military base on the islands and has blamed others for the escalation. The commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Samuel Paparo, told reporters in Washington on Monday that the Solomon-China deal was “very worrying.” The story goes on “I’m undoubtedly concerned; and it ‘s a concern for all our partners in the Western Pacific, and especially in Australia and New Zealand,” Paparo told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Anne-Marie Brady, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington and a professor of politics at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, said an enemy force in control of Solomon would have a direct impact on the sea lanes that connect the southern states. “There is no excuse for China to establish a military presence in the Solomon Islands,” Brady said. “The goal is to cut off Australia and New Zealand from US military support. “It is both an immediate and a long-term threat,” he added.
