Australia builds hi-tech force to beat terror

By Sophie Hares

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The threat from terror groups and failed states means Australia needs a high-tech, rapid deployment defence force, the defence minister says.

Robert Hill said terrorism remained Australia’s greatest concern and had forced the government to spend heavily in improving counter-terrorism capabilities to ensure the country had the ability to defend itself from external threats.

"Any suggestion that we should aim to defend Australia just in Australia is naive and dangerous," he told a defence and industry conference in Canberra on Tuesday.

"The emergence of a class of failed and failing states has placed a premium on light, sustainable and effective forces able to deploy rapidly to enforce peace and stabilise conditions of security," Hill added.

Australia, a close ally of the United States that sent troops to Iraq, has never had a major terror attack on its own soil, but 88 Australians were among 202 killed in the October 2002 nightclub bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Southeast Asian militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah is believed responsible for the Bali bombings and Hill last week said Asia was now a "breeding ground of Islamic extremism" and called for regional military cooperation to fight terror groups.

Australia has committed its forces in recent years to regional trouble spots such as East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville island.

HEAVY SPENDING

The Australian government’s commitment to revamp its defence forces saw its 2004/05 budget in May allocate A$3.8 billion (1.4 billion pounds) for defence capital investment, which will rise to A$4.3 billion in 2005/06, and A$4.6 billion the year after.

Australia is considering purchasing new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft from the United States, which will replace ageing F/A-18 Hornet fighters and F-111 bombers.

It also plans to set up a squadron of unmanned aircraft, like the U.S. Global Hawk drone in Iraq, and Hill said Australia’s need for firepower and mobility drove its recent decision to select Abrams tanks to replace its ageing Leopards.

A revamped, hig-tech Australian defence force would make it "more capable of both defending Australia and supporting our friends in the region and further afield", Hill said.

But the cornerstone of Australia’s defence is its alliance with the United States. Since the September 11, 2001, airliner attacks on U.S. cities, Australia has tightened its military ties with the United States and beefed up security within Australia.

Australia will sign the U.S. missile defence programme known as "Son of Star Wars" when Hill visits Washington in July.

Hill said investment in anti-ballistic missile technology was necessary to deter attacks by rogue states and terror groups who were seeking chemical, nuclear and biological weapons.

The Australian government will on Wednesday host a security conference in Canberra for the country’s top business leaders to discuss the protection of key infrastructure against attack.

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