Targeting Asia-Pacific defence, Australia to spend US$580m on military upgrades

Australia will spend A$747 million (US$580 million) to upgrade four northern military bases and expand war games with the United States, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.

In an announcement that comes amid an increasingly bitter diplomatic and trade spat with China, Morrison said Australia must expand its military assets in the Northern Territory to be able to respond to unspecified tensions in the Asia-Pacific region...