Australia sharpens defence force to ‘shape, deter and respond’
The year 2020 has been dramatic so far, and Australia marked its halfway point by releasing twin documents – the 2020 Defence Strategic Update and 2020 Force Structure Plan – that draw a clear line in the sand towards potential aggressors in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Australian government said of the Strategic Update ‘sets out the challenges in Australia’s strategic environment and their implications for defence planning’. It added that it provides a new strategic policy framework to ensure Australia is able – and is understood as willing – to deploy military power to shape our environment, deter actions against
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