Richard Marles warns Australia cannot rely on US alone to counter Chinese military build-up

Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia cannot rely on the United States alone to counter China’s military strength in the Indo-Pacific, as his US counterpart insists America’s regional allies should contribute more to their own defence. Mr Marles, speaking at a global security conference in Singapore, warned China had embarked on the largest conventional military build-up since World War II, and was “doing so without providing any strategic transparency or reassurance”. “This remains a defining feature of the strategic complexity that the Indo-Pacific and the world faces today,” he said on Saturday. His comments followed assurances from US Secretary of…