On August 24, Prime Minister John Howard revealed plans for an A$10 billion [A$1 = US 77 cents] expansion of the army from six to eight battalions. This 20 percent buildup over the next decade will take the army to 30,000 personnel, the size reached during the Australian government’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

Two weeks earlier, Howard confirmed an increase from 240 to 400 troops, plus extra light armored vehicles, for a new Australian contingent in southern Afghanistan to fight alongside Dutch NATO forces. Speaking August 9, he warned of the “possibility of casualties.”

Australian forces already there, including 200 commandos plus backup troops and helicopters, are fighting alongside U.S. troops against Taliban forces in the mountainous region bordering Pakistan. Defense Minister Brendan Nelson told the Sydney Morning Herald the troops were engaged in the most intense, sustained fighting by Australian forces since the Vietnam War.

Following the August 11 United Nations resolution for a “peacekeeping force” in southern Lebanon after the Israeli assault on the country, Australia’s foreign minister, Alexander Downer, agreed to consider a “niche” troop contribution. Labor opposition leader Kim Beazley welcomed the decision but said any commitment needed to be modest because the Australian military was “overstretched.” A dozen Australian troops are currently part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

Last year, 1,500 extra troops were approved as part of a long-term plan to reequip and reorganize the Australian army. A multi-billion-dollar equipment upgrade will provide new helicopters, tanks, trucks, combat gear, and communications systems.

The day after the army expansion was announced, Howard unveiled a A$500 million plan to double the international force of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to more than 1,000, the largest expansion since the AFP was founded in 1979. This will include training with the army, formation of a 150-strong rapid response group, and a paramilitary “riot squad” for “stabilization” operations in the Pacific region.

Earlier in May, Nelson announced an elite High Readiness Reserve—2,800 for the army and 1,400 for the air force—drawn from existing reserves for short-notice deployment. He affirmed purchase of four large C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft for airlifting heavy armor to distant war theatres. Nelson said the goal was “a more combat focused, better equipped, more mobile and operationally ready” military.

Arguing for the military expansion, Howard cited recent unrest in the Solomon Islands, past coups in Fiji, instability in Vanuatu, an “inherently unstable situation in Papua New Guinea,” and “coalition operations in other parts of the world.” He said Australia was “the biggest, wealthiest country in our immediate region. The rest of the world will look to us to carry most of the burden. We can’t do it without a larger army.”

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, Michael Somare, objected to Howard’s comments about local instability. He said the real reason for Australian military expansion was increased commitments in U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Australian-led intervention in East Timor.

By November, well over 3,000 Australian troops will be stationed overseas, with 1,400 in Iraq and the Arab-Persian Gulf, more than 1,000 in Timor Leste, and 650 in Afghanistan. More than 430 Australian federal and state police are also overseas in regional “trouble spots.”  
 
 
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