Australia must turn itself into a “porcupine” island fortified with enough lethal weaponry to deter an attack from a hostile rival, Defence Minister Richard Marles has warned. | KnottMatthew
The term “porcupine” is most frequently used to describe Taiwan and the idea it should be festooned with enough high-grade weaponry to dissuade China from trying to seize control of the autonomous island.Marles said a key mission of the snap strategic Defence Force review he announced earlier this month was to ensure Australia could project enough lethal force to defend itself against an attack by a would-be aggressor.
“I think we need to start there in order to create something that might be of interest to other countries.” A separate review, due to report in March, will examine whether the life-cycle of Australia’s current fleet of Collins-class vessels can be extended long enough to fill the capability gap.