Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles has hinted that the world could be on the "foothills" of a new nuclear arms race, revealing this is why the Australian government has expanded its military funding.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Marles said the Cold War era of strict nuclear arms control expired this year and the "global rules-based order" nations once operated under has been torn up.
"The Cold War era of nuclear arms control – put in place to limit the risk of catastrophic nuclear confrontation – ended this year with the expiry of the last remaining agreement limiting the number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by Russia and the United States – the countries with the two largest stockpiles," Marles said.
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"All nuclear weapon states are growing their arsenals once more, with the biggest growth occurring in China.
"Absent new arms control efforts, we may be at the foothills of a new nuclear arms race.
"This struggle is not abstract. It will drive elevated risks to Australia's security and prosperity over the coming decade."
The defence minister said the looming nuclear threat is why Australia has invested heavily in its long-term military capability.
Marles described Australia's $53 billion defence plan as one that strengthens "self-reliance" into the next decade.
He said military spending under Labor has increased by up to $30 billion over the forward estimates.
This is an extra $117 billion over the next 10 years, Marles added.
"To place this in context, the former Coalition government, which governed during a period when all the trends we are wrestling with today were just as present then, increased defence spending by just $10 billion over the decade," he said.
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Among the major defence investments made by the government recently has been the acquisition of nuclear submarines.
Marles said "major progress" had been made on the AUKUS agreement.
"The government has undertaken the most ambitious modernisation of Australia's maritime capability since the Second World War," he said.
But fortifying Australia's military in the name of self-reliance "should not be confused with military self‑sufficiency", Marles said, adding that Australia's relationship with allies including the US remains important.
"Alliances, especially with the United States, will always be fundamental to Australia's defence," he said.
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Australia will do 'all within our power' to bring peace
In his opening remarks, Marles insisted Australia was doing everything it could to bring lasting peace to the Middle East.
"The current ceasefire in the Middle East is an opportunity to move back from the brink," he said.
"Open the Strait of Hormuz, restore the global fuel supply chain, and place events on a path to peace.
"For our part, Australia will do all within our power to help make this temporary ceasefire permanent."
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