Canberra announced a new round of missile deals with the U.S. Monday, clocking in at a staggering $1 billion.
The package includes 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 60 Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles.
The Tomahawk missiles boast a range of over 900 miles. After the deal, they’ll be owned by three nations in total: Australia, the U.S., and Britain.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles says the move is backed by the nation’s latest defense review.
It recommends that Australia adopt a strategy to keep enemies at bay.
The purchase also follows a weekend interview with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
She was asked if Australia and China were in an ‘arms race’ and if China “was making the world more dangerous?”
Wong declined to comment directly, but had this to say:
“We know what is happening in our region. We’ve seen recently, exercises in the Taiwan Strait, we’ve seen events in the Philippines.”
Wong added that Canberra had been upfront about the military build-up in the Indo-Pacific region.
