Missiles, drones and warships the priority as Australia plans $32bn defence boost

Australia will boost defence spending by A$50.3bn (R616.12bn) over the next decade and reshuffle its weapons programs to emphasise missiles, drones and warships as it looks to the possibility of a Pacific conflict between China and the US.The bulk of the new spending, part of a A$330bn (R4.04-trillion) decade-long budget, will only kick in after five years, and ultimately take defence spending to 2.4% of GDP by 2034 from just over 2% today.Announced by defence minister Richard Marles on Wednesday, the new funding reflects new priorities, such as long-range missiles, that Australia…