Defence Minister Richard Marles has clashed with one of his top officials over whether the government will delay a critical decision on a new fleet of warships, as the presence of a Chinese flotilla off the coast of Australia focuses attention on the navy’s vulnerabilities, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Military experts urged Marles to override any bureaucratic resistance and stick to the plan to decide this year whether German company TKMS or Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will win a $10 billion contract to build 11 frigates to replace the navy’s ageing fleet of Anzac-class vessels.
