Australian Shadow Defence Minister Calls for Faster Military Capabilities to Protect Taiwan From Beijing

In this handout provided by the Australian Department of Defence, Armadale Class Patrol Boat, HMAS Armidale, sails into the Port of Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands, on Dec. 1, 2021. CPL Brodie Cross/Australian Department of Defence via Getty Images

Australia must speed up efforts to build a military strike capability before nuclear submarines are ready to prepare for China’s possible aggression against Taiwan, Australian shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said.

In a speech at a Business News Politics and policy breakfast in Perth on Nov. 2, Hastie called for the country to “build and maintain a strong deterrent” for “any unilateral military adventurism” by any regional aggressor.

Hastie said Admiral Phil Davidson, the former U.S. Commander of the Indo-Pacific, warned 18 months ago that China could try to take Taiwan by force within six years by 2027.

He also noted that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said that Beijing intends to move against Taiwan on a “much faster timeline.”

Tourists look on as a Chinese military helicopter flies past Pingtan island, one of mainland China's closest point from Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 4, 2022. HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

“There has been a change in the approach from Beijing toward Taiwan in recent years,” Blinken said on Oct. 17 at an event jointly hosted by the Hoover Institution and Stanford University.

“Instead of sticking with the status quo that was established in a positive way, a fundamental decision that the status quo was no longer acceptable, and that Beijing was determined to pursue reunification on a much faster timeline.”

Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of U.S. naval operations, also warned last week that China could take action against Taiwan before 2024.

Hastie said that these warnings are “considered words” and Australia “must take them seriously.”

Andrew Hastie, Liberal MP, speaks at the Australian Parliament in May 2018. Commonwealth of Australia

“The window is closing fast,” he said. “We won’t have nuclear submarines in the water by 2027, so how are we hedging against the risk of conflict arriving sooner rather than later?”

“Russia brutally seized parts of Ukraine; Chinese rockets streaked across the skies of Taiwan; and Chinese influence has projected deep into the Pacific Island Chain, ensnaring the heart of at least one national leader,” Hastie said.

“The Sogavare (prime minister of the Solomon Island)-Beijing Security Pact is a startling reminder that there is a growing geopolitical contest taking place on our front doorstep.”

In the face of the current international situation, Hastie said Australia needed to invest in bombers, be prepared to spend “well above” two percent of GDP on defence and called for young people to be recruited into the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to build a stronger military.

Members of the Australian Defence Forces (ADF) march during an Anzac Day parade in Brisbane, Australia, on April 25, 2022. Dan Peled/Getty Images

“We need to build strike capabilities that can hold an adversary at risk beyond the archipelago to our north. Strike bombers; precision-guided missiles; and unmanned autonomous vehicles—in the skies and in the seas below,” he said.

The Albanese government has committed to the former Coalition government to increase the size of the ADF by 18,500 by 2040, which is going to be a “huge task,” according to Hastie.

The shadow Defence Minister believes that the key to attracting Generation Z and the younger Generation Alpha into the ADF is to emphasize “the service ethos, duty, honour, and country.”

“We have a moral obligation to the Australian people to build and maintain a strong deterrent to any regional aggressor,” he said. “To show that there is a great cost for any unilateral military adventurism.”

“It is simply responsible national security, and it is what Australians expect.”

The comments came after a new poll showed 46 percent of Australians believe their country should send troops to defend Taiwan in the event of an armed attack by Beijing.