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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Ben Doherty

War of words: Australia can expect a hostile response from China to strategic defence review

HMAS Perth officers on the bridge during mock sea battles for the Royal Australian navy’s Exercise Kakadu in September 2022.
HMAS Perth officers on the bridge during mock sea battles for the Royal Australian navy’s Exercise Kakadu in September 2022. Australia will make a version of its defence strategic review public on Monday. China is expected to react negatively. Photograph: Aaron Bunch/AAP

Australia’s strategic defence review, to be made public on Monday, is likely to spark a hostile response from China and set off a new round of claim and counterclaim about the precarious relationship between the two countries.

Sir Angus Houston, the former head of the Australian military who led the review with the former defence minister Stephen Smith, said when it was launched last year the strategic circumstances were “the worst I have ever seen in my career and lifetime”.

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