Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has his country to prepare for an arms race in the Asia-Pacific region.
In a speech to the National Congress of the Returned and Services League on Tuesday night, Mr Rudd announced a build-up in naval strength and an extension to a $A60 billion weapons programme.
Mr Rudd flagged strengthening the Australian Defence Force to meet the challenge. He highlighted the modernisation of Asian military forces - including significant improvements in air and naval capabilities - and said the Asia-Pacific region would become much more contested in the future.
Mr Rudd said an enhanced naval capability was needed to protect Australia's sea lanes of communication and support land forces during deployments.
He also said an air force was needed that could fill support and combat roles and could deter, defeat and provide assistance to land and maritime forces.
Mr Rudd said Australia's defence had been overstretched for a long time and it needed to be prepared for a regional arms build-up to deal with any contingencies that might arise.
Mr Rudd did not spell out which countries in Asia could pose a threat, but Australian military planners are wary of China's rapid arms build-up and the expanding reach of India's military. Indonesia and Malaysia are also building more powerful air forces.
Mr Rudd said Australia must also be prepared to deal with terrorism threats, the growth of China, and tensions already existing in the Asia-Pacific region.
He noted that mainland China and Taiwan have still been unable to resolve basic questions of sovereignty.
He also said there are unresolved border disputes between many countries, including between China and India and between China and its maritime neighbours in the South China Sea.
