While some of the criticism of the defence strategy announced by Defence Minister Richard Marles in Canberra on Thursday was so extreme as to render itself irrelevant, it is very hard to find anybody outside the government with a good word to say.

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It is also noteworthy that Mr Marles, who was acting Prime Minister while Anthony Albanese was overseas, has been left to carry the load of selling a policy condemned by former army chief turned university academic Peter Leahy as "budget trickery of historic proportions" almost entirely on his own.

At least Dr Marcus Hellyer, the head of research at Strategic Analysis Australia, was fair-minded enough to concede that given the challenges facing the government in the weeks leading up to what is expected to be a very interesting budget, holding defence spending at or slightly above current levels was worth celebrating.

"The steady but not spectacular upwards trajectory in the defence budget continues with a further $14 billion over the four years of the forward estimates and $53 billion over the next decade," he said.

"When the current fuel crisis is giving Treasurer Jim Chalmers a major headache, the fact that defence funding has not only been preserved but increased is a win."

But Dr Hellyer did not get carried away. He, as is the wont of commentators, has made "damning with faint praise" an art form.

After suggesting the government indulged in creative accounting, a polite way of referring to "budget trickery," he cut to the chase: "The real question is whether the government is spending enough... despite repeated warnings of increasing uncertainty, the growth trajectory of the defence budget is still relatively flat... "

Effectively flatlining as a proportion of GDP, the spending seemed manifestly inadequate when contrasted with the gloomy threat assessment outlined by Mr Marles at the National Press Club.

Many critics argue the government is robbing the broader defence community to pay for AUKUS, and that putting all its eggs into one basket that will not hatch submarines until the mid-2030s is unwise given the current state of play.

While the minister frankly identified China's massive defence buildup, including trillions of yuan invested in a blue-water navy, an expanded nuclear arsenal, and sophisticated airborne weapons, he said little about the here and now.

That omission was partly addressed on Friday with the announcement Australia will partner with Japan to acquire 11 cutting-edge Mogami-class frigates, the first arriving in just three years.

The first three frigates, to be built in Japan, will replace the much-maligned Anzac-class frigates, which were dismissed by one former senior defence figure this week as "some of the least capable warships in the world" because they lack the capacity to defend themselves against drones.

While this will not please the pork barrellers who view defence projects as vote-grabbing job-creation programs, it is good news for the navy. The "jolly tars" can look forward to three world-class battle platforms that should arrive on time, on budget, and actually work when unboxed.

The government must cut its suit to fit its cloth. The nation is just about to clock up a trillion dollars in public debt, recruiting personnel is a major challenge, and cutting education or health to pay for what many deride as "boys' toys" would cause a public furore.

As the 13th-century Persian Sufi mystic and poet, Rumi, observed: "It is what it is."

A massive increase in defence spending right now would sit very oddly with the strict austerity measures and limited cost-of-living relief Treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to announce next month.

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Responsibility for election comment is taken by John-Paul Moloney of 121 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra. Published by Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Ltd.

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