CANBERRA, 1 December 2020, (TON): Australia and the United States will jointly develop hypersonic cruise missiles, the Australian defence minister announced on Tuesday, pledging to invest in “advanced capabilities” that will give the country’s military “more options to deter aggression” against its interests. 

China and Russia, both are developing similar missiles. 

The weapons are capable of travelling at more than five times the speed of sound and the combination of speed, manoeuvrability and altitude makes them difficult to track and intercept. 

Linda Reynolds, the Australian defence minister, called the bilateral project a ‘game-changing’ project with US that will help deter aggression against its interests. 

“Investing in capabilities that deter actions against Australia also benefits our region, our allies and our security partners,” she said. 

Australia had set aside up to 9.3 billion Australian dollars ($6.8bn) this year for high-speed, long-range missile defence systems, including hypersonic research. 

Australia’s collaboration with the US on missile development, however, could inflame tensions with China. 

Beijing has introduced a string of economic sanctions on Australian goods, and relations hit a new low on Monday after a senior Chinese official posted a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a blood-covered knife to the throat of an Afghan child. 

China has deployed, or is close to deploying, hypersonic systems armed with conventional warheads, according to defence analysts. 

Russia deployed its first hypersonic nuclear-capable missiles last year, while the Pentagon, which tested a similar hypersonic missile in 2017, has a goal of fielding hypersonic war-fighting capabilities in the early to mid-2020s. 

Tensions between Australia and China have recently read like the edge-of-your-seat part of a geopolitical thriller. Anger and mistrust between the countries has been bubbling under the surface for years. 

A turning point happened in 2017 after the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) warned of growing Chinese attempts to influence decision-making in Canberra.