Australia boosts defense spending to 'transform' military

SYDNEY -- Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles on Wednesday announced a boost of 50 billion Australian dollars ($32 million) to defense spending over the next decade to transform the country's military into a "focused" force amid "increasing strategic competition between the U.S. and China." 

Marles unveiled Australia's inaugural National Defence Strategy, a biennial document recommended by a 2023 review that found the country's defense force was "not fully fit for purpose" due to a deterioration in strategic circumstances in the region.