In this file photo dated May 9, 2019. Australian Army soldiers fire a Javelin anti-tank missile during Excercise Chong Ju, a live fire demonstration showcasing the army's joint combined arms capabilities at the Puckapunyal Military Base some 100 kilometres north of Melbourne. (PHOTO / AFP)
SYDNEY – Australia said on Tuesday it will pay military personnel A$50,000 ($33,165) to stay beyond an initial service period, days after a review found its defense posture was "not fit for purpose".
Defense Minister Richard Marles said the number of defense personnel was 3,400 below the positions funded, and there was a retention problem.
"We have an issue in terms of making sure that we are recruiting the number of defense force personnel that we need," he told reporters in Canberra.
The retention bonus will be paid to personnel who stay after completing a mandatory period of service, which is typically three years.
The government last week backed the recommendations of a Defense Strategic Review, which said Australia must prioritize long-range precision strike capability, domestic production of guided weapons, and diplomacy.
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The retention bonus will be paid to personnel who stay after completing a mandatory period of service, which is typically three years
Marles said the review had made clear Australia's defense posture "is no longer fit for purpose, by virtue of the complexity of the strategic circumstances that we face".
"We're now working through with a sense of controlled urgency to reshape our defense force," he added.
The review showed the United States was no longer the "unipolar leader of the Indo Pacific", that the major power competition had "potential for conflict".
Australia and Singapore held bilateral defense, trade and foreign policy discussions on Monday in Canberra.
Singapore's Minister for Defense Ng Eng Hen told reporters that Australia, as an Asian country, can play a bigger role in regional security.
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"When your submarines are ready, we would welcome them to call on our ports, we'll facilitate," he said, referring to the nuclear-powered submarine fleet Australia will acquire in the next decade through the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Britain.