Mr Morrison will unveil the $747 million spending package on four key training bases during his visit to the Northern Territory.

A file photo showing ADF soldiers on exercise in the Northern Territory. (Defence Department) (Supplied)

Northern Australia is a key region for Australian Defence Force bases, given its proximity to the Asia Pacific.

In February, the Federal Government announced a $1.1 billion upgrade to the Northern Territory’s RAAF Base Tindal in a bid to expand Australia and the US air power into the Indo-Pacific.

The RAAF’s new F-35 joint strike fighter jets will be based there.

Today’s announcement comes amid rising tensions between Australia and China.

One of the Federal Government’s top national security officials yesterday warned the “drums of war” are beating.

Home Affairs Department Secretary Mike Pezzullo said Australia must work to reduce the risk of war “but not at the cost of our precious liberty”.

US Marines regularly rotate through Darwin for exercises with Australian forces. (US Marines) (Supplied)

Mr Pezzullo was the latest government figure to express concern about the threat of China’s growing military and economic expansion.

In his speech, Mr Pezzullo, warned that Australia must be prepared “to send off, yet again, our warriors to fight”.

“Today, as free nations again hear the beating drums and watch worryingly the militarisation of issues that we had, until recent years, thought unlikely to be catalysts for war, let us continue to search unceasingly for the chance for peace while bracing again, yet again, for the curse of war,” he said.

Earlier this week, Defence Minister Peter Dutton warned that China was militarising ports in the region.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton has warned about China’s militarisation of Asia Pacific ports. (9News)

“We need to recognise that our region is changing,” Mr Dutton said on Sunday.

“China is militarising ports across our region. We need to deal with all of that, and that is exactly what we are now focused on.”

The comments follow the contentious decision by Foreign Minister Marise Payne to scrap Victoria’s controversial infrastructure agreement with Beijing linked to China’s Belt and Road initiative.



This content first appear on 9news

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *