China not a threat: Australia

Australia does not see China as an emerging military threat, as some other nations like the US and Japan have feared for years, the Australian Ambassador to China Geoff Raby said on Monday.

In an interview with China Daily, Raby said the Australian government earlier this month released a 140-page Defense White Paper, which "does not see the Chinese military as a threat".

The white paper - Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 - outlines Australia's defense and strategic plans to spend more than $70 billion over the next 20 years to boost its military capability.