Washington: Donald Trump is right to argue America's traditional allies, including Australia, have been "free-riding" on the US for too long, former prime minister Tony Abbott has said in a speech favourably comparing Trump to his "moralising" predecessor Barack Obama.
In an address to the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank on Wednesday, Abbott praised Trump's approach on climate change, foreign policy and immigration - including his promise to build a wall on the Mexican border, which he said could mirror Australia's successful efforts to stop asylum seeker boats from reaching the country.
But Abbott said Trump's isolationist tendencies and the rise of China mean Australia must become more self-reliant and dramatically increase its military spending in case the country is attacked by a hostile neighbour.
Abbott's speech coincided with Trump's visit to Europe in which he has berated America's NATO allies for failing to spend enough on defence and accused Germany of being "captive" to Russia.
"If America spends three per cent plus of the world's biggest GDP on its own forces, and the rest of the western world scarcely two per cent, it's hard to dispute Trump's view that most of us have been keeping safe on the cheap," Abbott said.
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