'China pushing Indo-Pacific into new missile age': Why Australia is worried

In late September, China conducted its first known ICBM test in 44 years, launching a missile that could reportedly be capable of reaching the US mainland into the Pacific Ocean

Australia is reportedly set to boost its missile defence capabilities after the recent Chinese test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the South Pacific, which has raised "significant concerns" in Canberra as the Indo-Pacific region enters a "missile age".

 

In a speech on Wednesday, Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy was quoted as saying by international news agencies and Al Jazeera that his country plans to increase its missile defence and long-range strike capabilities. Conroy added that Australia will cooperate with its security partners -- the United States (US), Japan, and South Korea -- on issues of regional stability.

 

 

Why does Australia need more missiles?

 

"Why do we need more missiles?," posing this question, Conroy answered before the National Press Club in Canberra that "strategic competition" between the US and China "is a primary feature of Australia's security environment".

 

Conroy added that that competition is "at its sharpest in our region", the Indo-Pacific, which is on the cusp of a new missile age, where missiles will also serve as "tools of coercion". 

 

Conroy also highlighted China's test-firing of an ICBM in September, when the missile travelled over 11,000 kilometre (km) to land in the Pacific Ocean northeast of Australia.

 

In response to a question, he told reporters that the Australian government expressed "significant concern" about the Chinese ICBM test, especially its entry into the South Pacific, "given the Treaty of Rarotonga", under which, the Pacific "should be a nuclear weapons-free zone". 

 

Against this backdrop, Conroy revealed that Australia will deploy SM-6 missiles on its navy's destroyer ships to provide ballistic missile defence. These missiles are used by the US Navy to perform anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare and ballistic missile defence.

 

What do we know about China's ICBM test?

 

In late September, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted its first known ICBM test in 44 years, launching a missile that could reportedly be capable of reaching the US mainland into the Pacific Ocean.

 

The most recent Chinese ICBM is the DF-41, which has a reported operational range of 12,000–15,000 km, making it capable of striking the US mainland. ICBMs generally have a range exceeding 5,500 km and are built to carry nuclear warheads.

 

This marked Beijing's first known successful atmospheric ICBM test over international waters in 44 years, according to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The last similar test took place in 1980, when a DF-5, China's first ICBM, flew over 9,000 km.

 

Is the Indo-Pacific entering a 'new missile age'?

 

September's ICBM test also came amid an increasing missile threat in the Indo-Pacific region. Earlier that month, North Korea also conducted multiple short-range ballistic missile tests, with launches directed towards the Sea of Japan.

 

Meanwhile, the US in April deployed its mid-range capability missile system in joint exercises with the Philippines, marking the first deployment of such a weapon in the Indo-Pacific region since the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union. The treaty had banned land-based missiles ranging from 500 km to 5,500 km.

 

After withdrawing from the treaty in 2019, citing Russian violations, the US resumed developing intermediate-range missiles, coinciding with Beijing's growing missile capabilities. 

 

Speaking to the SCMP, Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping had said that the ICBM tested could have been either a DF-31 or a DF-41, adding, "This capability can deter certain countries from attempting nuclear coercion against China".

 

Beijing also recently conducted a missile intercept test near the Indian border, which Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported in late August.

 

Experts interpreted it as a message of deterrence for New Delhi even as both nations were engaged in diplomatic efforts to resolve their long-standing territorial dispute along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which resulted in the patrolling agreement announced in October. 

 

The precise location of the test was not disclosed, and its timing remains unclear.

 

What are Australia's defence production plans?

 

In April, Australia unveiled a defence strategy that calls for a sharp increase in spending to counter its vulnerability to opponents interrupting trade or preventing access to vital sea and air routes.

 

Apart from rapidly developing its navy's surface fleet, Australia also plans to deploy stealthy nuclear-powered attack submarines under a tripartite agreement with the US and the United Kingdom (UK), known as AUKUS.

 

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles has also said that his country was unveiling its "blueprint" for the rapid domestic manufacturing of missiles and the acquisition of long-range strike capabilities.

 

Earlier in October, Australia announced a 7 billion Australian dollar ($4.58 billion) deal with the US to buy SM-2 IIIC and SM-6 surface-to-air missiles for its navy.

 

Previously, Australia has said that it will spend 74 billion Australian dollars ($49 billion) over the next decade on missile acquisition and missile defence, including 21 billion Australian dollars ($13.7 billion) on a new domestic manufacturing capability -- the Australian Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise.

 

Australia will also spend 316 million Australian dollars ($206 million) to set up the local manufacturing of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) in partnership with US-defence major Lockheed Martin. This project will see the production of these surface-to-surface weapons, which are rapidly deployable, for export from 2029. The factory will reportedly be capable of churning out 4,000 GMLRS a year, amounting to a quarter of the current global production.

 

Australia also announced a collaboration with Norway's Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace in August, under which it will jointly manufacture long-range Naval Strike Missiles and Joint Strike Missiles in the Australian city of Newcastle.