Australia

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) does not buy electric vehicles (EVs) from Chinese auto giant BYD, senators probing the ADF’s green initiatives have heard.

The country’s top defence officials spent much of Thursday sat before the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee, which unleashed volley after volley in questions spanning from the threat of near-term conflict to controversy swirling around a senior officer’s cookbook.

While digging into the ADF’s take-up of EVs, Liberal senator Sarah Henderson asked if any were made in China – Australia’s main regional rival.

Major General Jason Blain, who heads Land Systems Division, replied: “No, we are not.”

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China poses the biggest security threat to Australia but climate change is not far behind, according to Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty.

In her prodding of the Department of Defence’s green goals, Senator Henderson noted that the 2023 Defence Strategic Review mentioned China “some nine times”, while “climate change” and “climate events” featured “some 17 times”.

“In the department’s opinion and from its assessments, does China or climate change pose the greater threat to Australia’s security and the region’s security?” she asked.

Mr Moriarty said the “deteriorating strategic circumstances represent the greatest challenge to Australia’s defence interests”.

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