Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030
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| Author | Australian Government |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Defence white paper |
| Publisher | Department of Defence |
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Publication date
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2009 |
| Pages | 140 pp. |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 426475923 |
Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 is an Australian Government white paper released on 2 May 2009. The publication seeks to provide guidance for Australia's defence policy and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) during the period 2009–2030.
In 2000, the then coalition government released a defence white paper in response to the East Timor crisis that saw Australia deploying and leading a peacekeeping force in South-East Asia. The paper called for an increased expeditionary capability, and marked a departure from the defensive military posture (primacy of the air-sea gap) of the Defence of Australia Policy, that had been in place since the end of the Vietnam War.
A commitment to develop a new Defence white paper was one of the Australian Labor Party's (ALP's) policies during the 2007 Australian federal election. At the time the policy was launched, Labor's leader Kevin Rudd argued that the Howard Government had over-committed the ADF and conducted insufficient planning. Rudd promised that if elected his government would commission a new white paper to clarify the ADF's role and force structure.
In December 2007, shortly after the ALP Rudd Government was sworn in, the Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon, directed the Department of Defence to begin work on the white paper. While the white paper was originally due to be completed in December 2008, it was delayed until 2009 due to the volume of work required.
Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 was based around assumptions that China will become increasingly dominant in Australia's region and that Australia cannot rely on the United States for protection. The white paper outlines the Government's preferred ADF force structure, with specific elements for each of the three services.
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