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Deteriorating relationship with China ignites call to reintroduce conscription

Article image for Deteriorating relationship with China ignites call to reintroduce conscription

As tensions with China escalate, the federal government has announced a $270 billion plan to boost the Australian military.

In announcing the plan, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia needs to be prepared for a “poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly world” post-COVID-19.

Australia Defence Association Executive Director Neil James told Breaking Politics our region is entering “a time of high risk”.

“From 1945 until recently … there was no great risk of a major war in the Asia-Pacific region, and you can no longer say that.”

The Defence 2020 Force Structure Plan will see heavy investment in technology and weaponry: under the plan, the ADF will add just 80 recruits a year over the next decade.

The manpower shortfall has led to discussions of whether the reintroduction of conscription could make up numbers in a time of crisis.

While “we’re not at that stage yet”, Mr James admitted such a measure may eventually need to be discussed as part of a “widespread, informed debate”.

“The Defence Act allows, for times of apprehended war for example, for conscription to be reintroduced.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen in the short-to-medium term. But it remains a possibility in the long term, should our strategic circumstances deteriorate further.

“Conscription is always controversial. But it’s generally speaking less controversial when people appreciate it’s a time of greater strategic risk.”

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Image: Getty

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