Australia is going to allow non-citizens to join its armed forces, the government declared, as the sparsely populated country struggles to meet recruitment targets.
On Tuesday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said that “permanent residents who have been living in Australia for 12 months” would be allowed to serve beginning in July. He added that citizens of the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States receive preferential treatment.
Australia has a coastline that would go one and a half times around the Earth, but its population is only 26 million.
Canberra has increased defence spending in recent years, purchasing fleets of submarines, planes, and scores of fighting vehicles to combat rising regional tensions.
However, it has struggled to recruit enough pilots, sailors, and soldiers to operate and maintain them. Experts worry that too few Australians wear uniforms to meet present needs, let alone a larger military of the future.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute estimates that the Australian Defence Forces now have approximately 90,000 soldiers, including reserves.
In contrast, China’s military is believed to have two million personnel. Marles stated that expanding the Australian Defence Force was “essential to meet the nation’s security challenges through the next decade and beyond”.
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