THE world is becoming a more dangerous place, and Australia, far from being remote from the action, as in past major global conflicts, is now uncomfortably close.
Behind all the diplomatic niceties, we are seeing a return to the simmering distrust and strategic brinkmanship that marked the bad old days of the Cold War.
This time, though, the key players are the United States and China, both now engaged in a concerted arms build-up that invites comparisons with events leading up to last century’s global wars.
Indeed, US President Trump’s proclamations that he intends to “make America great again” would resonate ominously with anyone who was around in the 1930s, when Adolf Hitler was making a similar pledge in respect of demoralised Germany.
Only a few months ago, the world was wondering how the US would ever get on top of its massive national debt, but since Trump came to power the debt has become yesterday’s news, as the US embarks on a massive program of new defence spending.
A recent study published in The Australian contained some revealing statistics comparing the military strengths of nations bordering the Pacific, and for an Australian, it wasn’t pleasant reading.
Our defence capability is, frankly, pathetic compared to that of most other countries in our region. Even peace-loving Japan has four times the number of troops that Australia can muster – and other countries have many more, among them Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand.
I was interested to read earlier this month that Sweden has voted to reintroduce compulsory military service, having discontinued it in 2010, when tensions seemed to be easing.
Now, with Russia in a newly aggressive mode, the Baltic area is no longer a backwater. Similarly, the Pacific is belying its name and now looms as the most likely spot for a serious flare-up, given the recent nuclear sabre-rattling by North Korea, and China’s ongoing militarisation of contested islands in the South China Sea.
All of which suggests to me it’s time Australia thought about reintroducing compulsory military service, as a means of boosting our national preparedness.
We’re not talking about sending young conscripts away to fight controversial wars, as we did with Vietnam, but merely ensuring Australia has a substantial cohort of trained men and women able to be mobilised in defence of the nation if the need arises.
Critics will say we can’t afford it, in a time of budgetary stringency, but perhaps we could make do with a few less of the 70 Joint Strike Fighters we’ve ordered, at around $100 million a pop.
A national service program would also soak up many young people now unemployed, thereby giving them some much-needed focus in life (and reducing the national dole bill).
We can’t go on expecting that a “great and powerful friend” will always come to our aid, like the trusty butler.
We need to show both our friends and our neighbours that we are serious about self defence.