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The article discusses issues related to 2013 Defence White Paper which has committed to the Offshore Combatant Vessels (OCV) project in Australia with procurement of an existing Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). Topics discussed include comparison between the 2013 with that of the 2009 Defence White Paper, which had plans to introduce a class of 20 Offshore Combatant Vessels (OCV) under Project SEA 1180 for ship classes performing patrol duties and oceanographic survey.

An editorial on the release of 2016 White Paper on February 25, 2016 is presented which provides coherent framework for a substantial increase in military spending to boost numbers of ADF and acquire more hardware. Topics discussed include issues related to spending 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on military expenses, negative reaction of China to increase in Defence spending by Australia, and developing and building of high technology military equipment in Australia.

The article offers updates on the Pacific Maritime Security Programme, which is a follow-up to the Pacific Patrol Boat programme that sees the replacement of patrol boats from 2018. Topics mentioned include the rights of small Pacific Island Countries over their Exclusive Economic Zones, the Australia-New Zealand Cooperative agreement of 1944, and the 2016 Defence White Paper of the Australian Department of Defence released on February 25, 2016.