Australia to boost defence spending citing growing threats

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday that his country will raise defence spending to 3.0 percent of GDP by 2033 as armed conflicts flare worldwide. The new commitment follows pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration for Australia to boost military expenditure as a share of total annual economic output.

Australia changed the defence budget to match a NATO definition that includes factors such as military pensions and defence intelligence. Marles said that this allowed better comparisons with other countries and put Australia ahead of comparable European and Asian nations with a defence spend this year of 2.8 percent.