{"id":257,"date":"2012-07-20T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2012-07-19T20:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=257"},"modified":"2012-08-09T10:17:35","modified_gmt":"2012-08-09T00:17:35","slug":"graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Graph of the week: In defence of defence cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

If, as the saying has it, the exchange rate between words and pictures really is 1000 to 1, that\u2019s too good a deal to pass up. Each week The Strategist<\/em> will bring you some graphs that tell a story of their own. The first one:<\/p>\n

In defence of defence cuts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/strong>Given the outcry at the news that this year\u2019s defence budget was the lowest proportion of GDP since 1938, you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking that Australia was wide open to military exploitation.<\/p>\n

In the interest of perspective, here\u2019s a graph (click to enlarge) that shows Australia\u2019s spending on defence compared to the five biggest spending ASEAN countries (Source: DIO Defence economic trends in the Asia-Pacific 2011<\/em>). Australia is spending nearly as much as the five put together\u2014and has been doing so for over a decade. That buys a lot of extra military capability.<\/p>\n

\"Graph<\/a><\/figure>\n

To head off the objection that the real \u2018future adversary\u2019 is somewhat further north than the ASEAN five, here\u2019s the same graph (click to enlarge) for defence spending of the major players in North Asian security (Source: DIO Defence economic trends in the Asia-Pacific 2011<\/em>). If the ANZUS Treaty is all it\u2019s cracked up to be, there\u2019s not too much to worry about.<\/p>\n

\"Graph<\/a><\/figure>\n

Of course, the 2013 Defence White Paper has to worry about the future, not the past, and the trends there are not quite so reassuring from a western military muscle point of view. And, as Mark Thomson and I argued previously<\/a>, local challenges to established powers become credible long before global ones. But it\u2019s taking a long bow to suggest that a one year downturn in Australian defence spending is a national security catastrophe.<\/p>\n

Andrew Davies<\/a>\u00a0is senior analyst for defence capability at ASPI and executive editor of\u00a0<\/em>The Strategist.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If, as the saying has it, the exchange rate between words and pictures really is 1000 to 1, that\u2019s too good a deal to pass up. Each week The Strategist will bring you some graphs …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[17,26,27,25],"class_list":["post-257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy-guns-and-money","tag-australia","tag-defence-spending","tag-northeast-asia","tag-southeast-asia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGraph of the week: In defence of defence cuts | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graph of the week: In defence of defence cuts | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If, as the saying has it, the exchange rate between words and pictures really is 1000 to 1, that\u2019s too good a deal to pass up. Each week The Strategist will bring you some graphs ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-07-19T20:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-08-09T00:17:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Graph-Proportion-of-defence-spending-Southeast-Asia-01.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Davies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Davies\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Graph-Proportion-of-defence-spending-Southeast-Asia-01.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Graph-Proportion-of-defence-spending-Southeast-Asia-01.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Graph showing proportion of defence spending for Southeast Asia\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/\",\"name\":\"Graph of the week: In defence of defence cuts | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-07-19T20:00:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-08-09T00:17:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/08a9125f7af3039520d264e965235a73\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Graph of the week: In defence of defence cuts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/08a9125f7af3039520d264e965235a73\",\"name\":\"Andrew Davies\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbb47ebb41d4978346dbf2e1d21b992a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbb47ebb41d4978346dbf2e1d21b992a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andrew Davies\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/andrew-davies\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Graph of the week: In defence of defence cuts | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Graph of the week: In defence of defence cuts | The Strategist","og_description":"If, as the saying has it, the exchange rate between words and pictures really is 1000 to 1, that\u2019s too good a deal to pass up. Each week The Strategist will bring you some graphs ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2012-07-19T20:00:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-08-09T00:17:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Graph-Proportion-of-defence-spending-Southeast-Asia-01.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andrew Davies","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Davies","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Graph-Proportion-of-defence-spending-Southeast-Asia-01.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Graph-Proportion-of-defence-spending-Southeast-Asia-01.jpg","width":900,"height":600,"caption":"Graph showing proportion of defence spending for Southeast Asia"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/","name":"Graph of the week: In defence of defence cuts | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2012-07-19T20:00:12+00:00","dateModified":"2012-08-09T00:17:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/08a9125f7af3039520d264e965235a73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/graph-of-the-week-in-defence-of-defence-cuts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Graph of the week: In defence of defence cuts"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/08a9125f7af3039520d264e965235a73","name":"Andrew Davies","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbb47ebb41d4978346dbf2e1d21b992a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbb47ebb41d4978346dbf2e1d21b992a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andrew Davies"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/andrew-davies\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":695,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions\/695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}