iscover
Visiting Dutch Chief of Defence, General Onno Eichelsheim, has added his voice to calls for the Australian government to increase its defence spending, meaning Australia runs the risk of facing a pile-on of international pressure to step up our own game.
As the post-Second World War economic, political and strategic order continues to deteriorate with flashpoints in Europe, the Middle East, and increasingly simmering tensions in the Indo-Pacific, Australia has faced mounting domestic and international calls to dramatically lift its defence spending.
Not least of all is the mounting pressure from our “great and powerful friend” in the United States, which has, under the returned Trump administration, set firm and clear expectations about what it wants to see from its partners both in Europe and the Indo-Pacific as America pivots towards President Donald Trump’s signature “America First” doctrine.
This mounting pressure from the US has been met with firm and consistent push back from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who remains content with the current projected spending horizons identified in the 2023 Defence Strategic Review and the supporting 2024 Integrated Investment Program and National Defence Strategy of 2.33 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by FY2033–34.
Indeed the Prime Minister recently pushed back against the US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who, during the Shangri-La 2025 Dialogue in Singapore, called on Australia to lift its defence spending, with the PM saying: “What we’ll do is we’ll determine our defence policy, and we’ve invested just across the forwards, an additional $10 billion in defence. What we’ll do is continue to provide for investing in our capability but also investing in our relationships in the region.”
While much of the analysis has focused on the mounting pressure and requests from the United States, the rapid deterioration of the global security environment has prompted other nations embedded in the US-led, post-World War II order to take a closer look at the spending of their neighbours and global partners more broadly.
Now, while domestic debate about the nation’s defence spending continues to swirl, visiting Dutch Chief of Defence, General Onno Eichelsheim, has entered the debate calling for Australia to rapidly increase its defence spending, citing major concerns about the rise of China and its ambitions towards the Indo-Pacific.
GEN Eichelsheim speaking to ABC political reporter Tom Lowrey said: “You should look at the facts that are around you … if Russia tells us that they want to have more, more influence, than take that seriously ... And if you see in this case in this region, China building up, take it seriously and get ready for something that you hope will never happen ... If you prepare for war, you can avoid war. And that’s how we look at it.”
Australia can’t afford to be naive
It should be safe to assume that even your average Australian understands that the threat posed to Australia by the regional ambitions of the People’s Republic of China is far different to the threat posed to Europe by Russia.
Despite this, one should never make assumptions because that isn’t necessarily a safe assumption to make, even today with incomprehensible access to the sum of human knowledge and current events in the palm of our hands.
Yet, if one were to ask average Australians, one would be hard-pressed to find the economic, political and security challenges posed by China and its ambitions for regional hegemony ranking in the top three issues of focus raised.
In large part, this comes as a result of the geographic isolation of the nation and the insulating nature of the “tyranny of distance” long embraced by our political class as an innate defensive mechanism that has kept us safe and the continued perpetuation of the post-Cold War myth of the “End of History”.
This, in turn, has resulted in an entrenched strategic naivety among both Australia’s political decision makers and the public, as well as a firm belief that our “great and powerful friend”, in this case, the United States, remains the uncontested global hegemon and despite concerns about the reliability of the Trump administration, it remains firmly committed to our security.
Recognising this, GEN Eichelsheim warns against Australians completely falling into the comforting trap of naievity about the economic, political and strategic realities facing our region, warning that Australia and similar nations across the Indo-Pacific should avoid the trap of “naivety”.
This comes as debate around Australia’s own defence spending continues to swirl and heat up, with the returned and empowered Albanese government sticking to the spending pipeline and the Prime Minister seeking to reinforce the importance of capabilities, not arbitrary spending targets.
GEN Eichelsheim in a manner reinforces this, following his own country’s commitment to lifting defence spending to the new NATO “floor” of 3.5 per cent of GDP, telling Lowrey: “It’s not about the percentage, it’s about the capabilities ... But inevitably, I think Australia has to increase its capabilities as well, if you look at the region, and the build-up in this case of China.”
While one would be forgiven for thinking that the Netherlands would be solely focused on the European theatre and the challenges posed closer to home, GEN Eichelsheim was quick to reinforce that his country was also keeping a close eye on Beijing’s military build-up and the challenges it would pose both within the confines of the Indo-Pacific, and as we have seen with increasing frequency, across the globe.
GEN Eichelsheim explained: “We worry about the amount of capabilities that China is building up ... Those are not capabilities that you only use for protecting yourself. There are also quite a lot of offensive capabilities in it ... Leaving it only to the US versus China is also not a good idea – so we’ve increased our partnerships a lot with Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and also the Philippines.”
Regardless of whether the government wakes from the comforting malaise it finds itself in, believing that the work and pathways established in the Defence Strategic Review and Integrated Investment Program are adequate, Australia is still a long way off having its military be “match fit” to confront the challenges we face.
So we best begin, and yesterday.
Final thoughts
The blame doesn’t lie solely with the current government; rather, successive Australian governments have failed to face up to the growing challenges in our region, especially those threatening our economic, political, social and strategic security.
As Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey put it: “Are our ever-changing political leaders or the heads of our armed forces or the platoons of Canberra bureaucrats mostly to blame for our military weaknesses? Australia is one of the oldest continuous democracies in the world, and therefore, we, as citizens and voters, have also to share the blame.”
That’ll come as a shock to many Australians, still wrapped in the comfort of the “end of history” illusion – an illusion made possible by decades of political silence on emerging threats.
Blainey warned: “For at least seven years, however, China has been provocative on sea and land, and one of its countless gestures of defiance was to send, early in 2025, war vessels far into Australian territorial seas without even notifying Canberra.”
Yet again, Australia defaults to Homer Simpson’s classic line: “Can’t someone else do it?” Our security strategy seems to rely on outsourcing to others.
Blainey nails it, saying: “Albanese believes that if Australia is in peril, he will summon the US for immediate help. Yet in some situations, the US, with all the goodwill in the world, will be unable to help us at once or unable to help us at all. The case is almost overwhelming that Australia first has to help itself. Even talented scholars who believe we should not be the firm ally of even the US or China are convinced that we should vigorously re-arm.”
To survive and prosper in this fast-changing world, both leaders and everyday Aussies must understand that while global power is becoming more multipolar, the Indo-Pacific is now the epicentre of strategic competition.
Nations like China, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam are on the rise, while South Korea and Japan remain strong and assertive. This is all unfolding right on our doorstep.
Australia can no longer afford to cling to the outdated assumptions that have shaped our policies since Federation. If we’re serious about seizing the opportunities of the Indo-Pacific, we need long-term vision and bold leadership.
The real questions now: when will we see a clear-eyed assessment of the risks and a decisive response? When will we craft a national strategy that helps both industry and the public understand not just the dangers but the real opportunities ahead?
As China’s influence grows and regional dynamics shift, Australia must ask: Will we settle for being a secondary power, or step up as a capable, independent force in the region?
Above all, we must resist the short-term mindset. Australia’s future depends on sticking to our core values and making hard, forward-looking choices, starting now.
Get involved with the discussion and let us know your thoughts on Australia’s future role and position in the Indo-Pacific region and what you would like to see from Australia’s political leaders in terms of partisan and bipartisan agenda setting in the comments section below, or get in touch at
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
