Military experts say Australian Defence bases ‘extraordinarily vulnerable'
Civilian spectators gathered at RAAF Williamtown in
NSW
on Thursday to watch Australia's $100 million F-35 Stealth Fighters take off.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Calls for heightened security around Australian defence bases.
But the sight of our most lethal fighter jets being put through their paces in front of an audience has some, like leading strategic analyst Michael Shoebridge, worried.
'Australia's military bases all around the country are extraordinarily vulnerable,' Shoebridge told 7NEWS.
Ukraine showed why in June when it blew up dozens of Russian aircraft using a barrage of drones launched from trucks parked close by air bases.
'We need a heightened sense of security and vigilance,' Shoebridge said.
He said Canberra is not listening.
'The shift of spending needs to be to protect these bases and the multibillion-dollar assets on them,' Shoebridge said.
Williamtown recently underwent a major upgrade — better ground lighting, drainage and reinforced services — to accommodate larger aircraft.
'Security of bases, ports and barracks is, and will remain, a focus for Defence resources,' a Defence spokesperson told 7NEWS.
It comes after concerns were raised earlier this year when a
Chinese naval taskforce circumnavigated Australia
.
Canberra is also under growing pressure from Washington to lift Defence spending.
'I've said very clearly we will invest in the capability that Australia needs,' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Australian companies including DroneShield sell their products to Europe and Ukraine, but Australia is not a customer.
Shoebridge said this 'is very strange' because 'they're much cheaper than air and missile defence systems' used by other countries, including the US.
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Perth Now
4 hours ago
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‘For ourselves': Albo's pointed jab at US
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The Advertiser
4 hours ago
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Russia pounds Kyiv with largest drone attack of the war
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Damage was recorded on both sides of the wide Dnipro River bisecting the city and falling drone debris set a medical facility on fire in the leafy Holosiivskyi district, Klitschko said. Russian air strikes on Kyiv have intensified in recent weeks and included some of the deadliest assaults of the war on the city of three million people. Trump said the call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday resulted in no progress at all on efforts to end the war, while the Kremlin reiterated that Moscow would keep pushing to solve the conflict's "root causes". "I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed," Trump said. "I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad." 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Ukraine's state-owned railway Ukrzaliznytsia, the country's largest carrier, said on Telegram that the attack on Kyiv forced them to divert a number of passenger trains, causing delays. Damage was recorded on both sides of the wide Dnipro River bisecting the city and falling drone debris set a medical facility on fire in the leafy Holosiivskyi district, Klitschko said. Russian air strikes on Kyiv have intensified in recent weeks and included some of the deadliest assaults of the war on the city of three million people. Trump said the call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday resulted in no progress at all on efforts to end the war, while the Kremlin reiterated that Moscow would keep pushing to solve the conflict's "root causes". "I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed," Trump said. "I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad." A decision by Washington this week to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv that the move would weaken its ability to defend against intensifying air strikes and battlefield advances. On Friday, Zelenskiy called for increased pressure on Moscow to change its "dumb, destructive behaviour". "For every such strike against people and human life, they must feel appropriate sanctions and other blows to their economy, their revenues, and their infrastructure," he said. Ukraine's Air Force said that it destroyed 478 of the air weapons Russia launched overnight. However, air strikes were recorded in eight locations across the country with nine missiles and 63 drones, it said. Social media videos showed people running to seek shelter, firefighters fighting blazes in the dark and ruined buildings with windows and facades blown out. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. Many more soldiers are believed to have died on the front lines, although neither side releases military casualty figures. Late on Thursday, Russian shelling killed five people in and near the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a key target under Russian attack for months, Ukraine said. Russia has pummelled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, injuring at least 23 people and damaging buildings across the capital only hours after US President Donald Trump spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin. Air raid sirens, the whine of kamikaze drones and booming detonations reverberated from early evening until dawn as Russia launched what Ukraine's air force said was a total of 539 drones and 11 missiles. Residents huddled with families in underground metro stations for shelter. Acrid smoke hung over the city centre. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is due to speak to Trump later on Friday about the war and a US pause in some deliveries of air defence missiles, called the attack "deliberately massive and cynical". "Notably, the first air raid alerts in our cities and regions yesterday began to blare almost simultaneously with media reports discussing a phone call between President Trump and Putin," Zelenskiy said on X. "Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror," he said, calling for increased pressure on Russia and more air defence equipment. Kyiv officials said the attack damaged about 40 apartment blocks, passenger railway infrastructure, five schools and kindergartens, cafes and many cars in six of Kyiv's 10 districts. Poland said the consular section of its embassy was damaged in central Kyiv, adding that staff were unharmed. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that 14 of the injured were hospitalised. Ukraine's state-owned railway Ukrzaliznytsia, the country's largest carrier, said on Telegram that the attack on Kyiv forced them to divert a number of passenger trains, causing delays. Damage was recorded on both sides of the wide Dnipro River bisecting the city and falling drone debris set a medical facility on fire in the leafy Holosiivskyi district, Klitschko said. Russian air strikes on Kyiv have intensified in recent weeks and included some of the deadliest assaults of the war on the city of three million people. Trump said the call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday resulted in no progress at all on efforts to end the war, while the Kremlin reiterated that Moscow would keep pushing to solve the conflict's "root causes". "I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed," Trump said. "I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad." A decision by Washington this week to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv that the move would weaken its ability to defend against intensifying air strikes and battlefield advances. On Friday, Zelenskiy called for increased pressure on Moscow to change its "dumb, destructive behaviour". "For every such strike against people and human life, they must feel appropriate sanctions and other blows to their economy, their revenues, and their infrastructure," he said. Ukraine's Air Force said that it destroyed 478 of the air weapons Russia launched overnight. However, air strikes were recorded in eight locations across the country with nine missiles and 63 drones, it said. Social media videos showed people running to seek shelter, firefighters fighting blazes in the dark and ruined buildings with windows and facades blown out. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. Many more soldiers are believed to have died on the front lines, although neither side releases military casualty figures. Late on Thursday, Russian shelling killed five people in and near the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a key target under Russian attack for months, Ukraine said.
The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
India backs Dalai Lama's position on successor
Only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has set up have the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, a senior Indian minister says, in a rare comment contradicting rival China's long-held position. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He previously said the person would be born outside China. Beijing says it has the right to approve the Dalai Lama's successor as a legacy from imperial times. Kiren Rijiju, India's minister of parliamentary and minority affairs, made a rare statement on the matter on Thursday, before visiting the Dalai Lama's base in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala for the religious leader's 90th birthday on Sunday. "No one has the right to interfere or decide who the successor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be," Indian media quoted Rijiju as telling reporters. "Only he or his institution has the authority to make that decision. His followers believe that deeply. It's important for disciples across the world that he decides his succession." In response to the remarks, China's foreign ministry warned India on Friday against interfering in its domestic affairs at the expense of bilateral relations, urging it to be prudent in its words and actions. "We hope the Indian side will fully understand the highly sensitive nature of Tibet-related issues, recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama," spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular media conference. India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the Dalai Lama's succession plan. Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, will be joined by other Indian officials at the birthday celebrations. India is estimated to be home to tens of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists who are free to study and work there. Many Indians revere the Dalai Lama, and international relations experts say his presence in India gives New Delhi a measure of leverage with China. Relations between India and China nosedived after a deadly border clash in 2020 but are slowly improving now. Only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has set up have the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, a senior Indian minister says, in a rare comment contradicting rival China's long-held position. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He previously said the person would be born outside China. Beijing says it has the right to approve the Dalai Lama's successor as a legacy from imperial times. Kiren Rijiju, India's minister of parliamentary and minority affairs, made a rare statement on the matter on Thursday, before visiting the Dalai Lama's base in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala for the religious leader's 90th birthday on Sunday. "No one has the right to interfere or decide who the successor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be," Indian media quoted Rijiju as telling reporters. "Only he or his institution has the authority to make that decision. His followers believe that deeply. It's important for disciples across the world that he decides his succession." In response to the remarks, China's foreign ministry warned India on Friday against interfering in its domestic affairs at the expense of bilateral relations, urging it to be prudent in its words and actions. "We hope the Indian side will fully understand the highly sensitive nature of Tibet-related issues, recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama," spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular media conference. India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the Dalai Lama's succession plan. Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, will be joined by other Indian officials at the birthday celebrations. India is estimated to be home to tens of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists who are free to study and work there. Many Indians revere the Dalai Lama, and international relations experts say his presence in India gives New Delhi a measure of leverage with China. Relations between India and China nosedived after a deadly border clash in 2020 but are slowly improving now. Only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has set up have the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, a senior Indian minister says, in a rare comment contradicting rival China's long-held position. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He previously said the person would be born outside China. Beijing says it has the right to approve the Dalai Lama's successor as a legacy from imperial times. Kiren Rijiju, India's minister of parliamentary and minority affairs, made a rare statement on the matter on Thursday, before visiting the Dalai Lama's base in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala for the religious leader's 90th birthday on Sunday. "No one has the right to interfere or decide who the successor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be," Indian media quoted Rijiju as telling reporters. "Only he or his institution has the authority to make that decision. His followers believe that deeply. It's important for disciples across the world that he decides his succession." In response to the remarks, China's foreign ministry warned India on Friday against interfering in its domestic affairs at the expense of bilateral relations, urging it to be prudent in its words and actions. "We hope the Indian side will fully understand the highly sensitive nature of Tibet-related issues, recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama," spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular media conference. India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the Dalai Lama's succession plan. Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, will be joined by other Indian officials at the birthday celebrations. India is estimated to be home to tens of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists who are free to study and work there. Many Indians revere the Dalai Lama, and international relations experts say his presence in India gives New Delhi a measure of leverage with China. Relations between India and China nosedived after a deadly border clash in 2020 but are slowly improving now. Only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has set up have the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, a senior Indian minister says, in a rare comment contradicting rival China's long-held position. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He previously said the person would be born outside China. Beijing says it has the right to approve the Dalai Lama's successor as a legacy from imperial times. Kiren Rijiju, India's minister of parliamentary and minority affairs, made a rare statement on the matter on Thursday, before visiting the Dalai Lama's base in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala for the religious leader's 90th birthday on Sunday. "No one has the right to interfere or decide who the successor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be," Indian media quoted Rijiju as telling reporters. "Only he or his institution has the authority to make that decision. His followers believe that deeply. It's important for disciples across the world that he decides his succession." In response to the remarks, China's foreign ministry warned India on Friday against interfering in its domestic affairs at the expense of bilateral relations, urging it to be prudent in its words and actions. "We hope the Indian side will fully understand the highly sensitive nature of Tibet-related issues, recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama," spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular media conference. India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the Dalai Lama's succession plan. Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, will be joined by other Indian officials at the birthday celebrations. India is estimated to be home to tens of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists who are free to study and work there. Many Indians revere the Dalai Lama, and international relations experts say his presence in India gives New Delhi a measure of leverage with China. Relations between India and China nosedived after a deadly border clash in 2020 but are slowly improving now.
