EDITORIAL: Drone splurge as China displays military might

They’re cutting edge, locally made and crucially, the first of them should be in the water by January.

The Government is staying coy on just how many unmanned Ghost Shark submarines Australia will get in return for its investment of $1.7 billion, revealing only that the figure would be in the “dozens”.

In defence procurement terms, that makes the outlay a pittance. To put it into context, the AUKUS pact, which is forecast to cost Australia circa $368 billion across 30 years, we’ll take delivery of between three and five Virginia-class submarines and up to eight nuclear-powered subs.

They’re vastly different beasts, but the Ghost Shark drones still come with fire power.

The Government says they are “designed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations, stealthily and at long range”.

That last point — that the Ghost Shark will be able to strike from very long range — was one Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy was keen to emphasise at a press conference on Wednesday.

“Let me repeat that: we will have the ability to strike at extremely long distances from the continent of Australia,” he said.

That’s especially important given Australia’s primary strategic competitor’s rapid military build-up and increasing aggression within our region.

China put its own submersible drones on display just last week at its so-called Victory Parade in Beijing.

Two sleek new models — one measuring about 18m in length — were among the military hardware rolled past Tiananmen Square.

It seems likely that if armed conflict does boil over in the South China Sea, autonomous systems will play a pivotal role.

When asked how the Ghost Shark measured up against the Chinese models, Defence Minister Richard Marles said he was confident it was the “best underwater autonomous military capability on the planet”.

The subs announcement came on the same day Anthony Albanese revealed he was in negotiations with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to sign a new security treaty, as Australia works to counter China’s growing influence within the Pacific.

It follows the Australian PM’s foiled attempt to sign a similar deal with Vanuatu, which was kiboshed at the last minute when the Ni-Vanuatu raised concerns it would prevent them from seeking funding from other nations — that is, China —for critical infrastructure projects.

Mr Albanese is also still working to schedule a face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump.

It had been hoped the pair would meet this month when Mr Albanese travels to New York to address the a United Nations General Assembly, but one is yet to be locked in.

If the long-awaited meeting does go ahead, Mr Albanese will no doubt point to the Ghost Sharks and his reinvigorated efforts at Pacific diplomacy as evidence of Australia’s awareness of its regional security responsibility, even as Australia holds firm against Mr Trump’s demand the nation lift its defence budget to 3.5 per cent of GDP.

Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore.