Australia’s Opposition Pledges to Boost Defense to 2.5% of GDP

Australia’s opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to boost defense spending by A$21 billion ($13.4 billion) over five years if his Liberal-National Coalition wins a May 3 election, reflecting growing strategic uncertainty in the international arena.

Dutton pledged to raise Australia’s military budget to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2030 in response to President Donald Trump’s call for US allies to take more action to fund their own security rather than relying on Washington.