Proposed Australian defense cuts could affect everything from deployments to weapons acquisitions, Australian defense specialists say.
Canberra University National Security Institute Director Peter Leahy said the government of Labor Party Prime Minister Julia Gillard had to understand that its proposed reductions in defense constituted a strategic risk, leaving the Australian military unable to do as much.
"We will have to pull back on our diplomatic and military objectives," he said in a report in Sunday's The Australian newspaper.
Leahy's comments carry weight, as he is the former chief of army.
Australian military head Gen. David Hurley earlier this month said with 58,000 full-time defense forces personnel and 21,000 reserves, the Australian military's numbers couldn't be reduced.
"In my view there is no fat in these numbers," he told the Australian Defense Magazine conference in Canberra.
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