Mr Patrick Walters
National Security Editor, The Australian
- ASEAN has been relatively neglected in the White Paper. The overwhelming focus is on the changing power balance in North Asia
- There is a danger that the large real, long run increases in defence spending could spell a reduced investment in Australia’s soft power or diplomatic initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. Effective diplomacy remains a crucial tool for a middle power like Australia.
- The history of recent defence white papers demonstrates that their financial goals are almost never met (the only recent exception is the 2000 white paper). The 2009 document has only a cursory one and a half pages on how it intends to pay for the largest defence build-up since World War Two.