Australia said on Monday it would accelerate plans to buy advanced sea mines to protect its maritime routes and ports from "potential aggressors" amid China's plans to increase its influence in the Pacific region. The so-called smart sea mines are designed to differentiate between military targets and other types of ships, a defence department spokesperson said in a statement. "(Australia) is accelerating the acquisition of smart sea mines, which will help to secure sea lines of communication and protect Australia's maritime approaches," it said. The federal government will soon announce a contract to buy "a substantial number" of sea mines from a European weapons supplier, the report said, citing unidentified defence industry sources. So we have looked at missile defence, we're looking at cyber security, we're looking at all of these issues," Albanese said.
