Australia losing regional military advantage: Analyst
Updated
A conference in Canberra has been told Australia's military advantage in the Asia-Pacific is coming to an end.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute conference has heard that countries in Asia are acquiring more high end military equipment as their economies grow.
The Institute's Andrew Davies says while economic growth is creating greater stability in the region, Australia needs to rethink its military structure.
He says more effort and spending should go into submarines and anti-submarine warfare rather than surface ships.
"The Australian Defence Force we have today looks remarkably like the Australian Defence Force that the Menzies Government put in place back in the 1960s, in terms of the number of aircraft, ships and submarines," he said.
"I think we need to think very hard about those relativities and move towards an ADF that's structured to maintain its relative advantage in the region."
