Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott is concerned that Australia has not got the message from Washington on defence spending, after European allies agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand.
European NATO leaders promised to boost defence spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over 10 years. Australia has yet to make a similar pledge.
“We’ve recently seen Donald Trump at NATO demanding and getting an increase in NATO defence spending to 3.5 percent for the immediate military needs of the nation and to 5 percent when you throw in other security issues,” Abbott told the Institute of Public Affairs.
Abbott said NATO allies have got the message from Washington….