how many soldiers in beyond the horizon 2017

The PLA is also developing the military capability to put at risk Australia ’s territorial integrity. In fact, the PLA is on track to gain the ability to threaten Australia ’s access to international markets and energy sources and thus obtain direct coercive power over Australia’s economic wellbeing. But that situation is changing. The PLA is rapidly growing from a local military force to a rising global power. Protected by distance and by its alliance with the greatest naval power in history, Australia’s vital interests or territorial integrity have never been threatened by the PLA. As a result of the wide moat of the Pacific Ocean, the PLA has historically been something that most Australians could safely ignore. And the sheer ability of the PLA to take such extreme steps places pressure on decision-makers whose actions are weighted with the fear that force might be used against them.įour thousand kilometres - the rough distance between Australia and the nearest point on mainland China - sounds like a long way, and until fairly recently it was. But defence policy operates in the realm of low-probability, high-consequence events. The prospect of Chinese military action against Australia remains remote. The expected introduction of additional PLA air and naval capabilities over time will worsen this asymmetry. Absent assistance from allies and partners, China already possesses the capability to strike Australia from existing bases with bomber aircraft and long-range missiles. Based on its scope, scale, and the specific capabilities being developed, this buildup appears to be designed to, first, threaten the United States with ejection from the western Pacific, and then to achieve dominance in the Indo-Pacific.Īssuming ongoing US involvement and support, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is unlikely to be able to seriously threaten the environment in Australia’s immediate region, nor Australia’s sovereignty, in the immediate future. China is engaged in the largest and most rapid expansion of maritime and aerospace power in generations.

As the international scope of China’s economic interests has expanded over time, China’s strategic horizons have broadened correspondingly, and so have its military capabilities.

How many soldiers in beyond the horizon 2017