SYDNEY — Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith on July 29
defended military spending cuts, saying the belt-tightening would not
impact overseas operations or those with key ally the United States.
Canberra announced in May that it would slash Aus$5.5 billion (U.S. $5.76 billion) from its defense budget as part of sweeping government cuts, deferring or scrapping jet and weapons deliveries and sacking 1,000 staff.
Smith said he had spoken with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on three occasions about the cuts, which do not involve cutting military personnel numbers or overseas operations, most recently last week.
Read More..................
Canberra announced in May that it would slash Aus$5.5 billion (U.S. $5.76 billion) from its defense budget as part of sweeping government cuts, deferring or scrapping jet and weapons deliveries and sacking 1,000 staff.
Smith said he had spoken with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on three occasions about the cuts, which do not involve cutting military personnel numbers or overseas operations, most recently last week.
Read More..................
No comments:
Post a Comment