Australia will enable non-citizens to join its armed services, the government announced Tuesday, as the sparsely populated country struggles to achieve recruiting targets.
Defence Minister Richard Marles stated that starting in July, relaxed qualifying standards would allow permanent residents who have been living in Australia for 12 months to serve.
“Citizens from Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States are being favoured”, Marles continued.
Australia has a coastline that would span one and a half times around the Earth, but a population of 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 fear that too few Australians do not have uniforms to meet current 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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