The ABC's defence and national security correspondent, Michael Brissenden, writes that the Government's Defence white paper returns Australia's military focus to traditional regional issues, but unlike previous white papers, this one was delivered with modern fanfare.

For the old defence scribes – and believe me, most of them have been around for a while and have seen a lot of government announcements – the release of this defence white paper was certainly something special.

None of them could remember seeing a white paper given as much spit and polish – ever. There was a full military band, a hangar full of expensive hardware and a frigate load of men and women in uniform gathered at Canberra's Fairbairn Air Force base for the occasion.

Back in the old days before Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs) and 24-hour television, a white paper launch was a relatively low-key affair.

But in 2009, Kevin Rudd took the media to a warship in Sydney harbour and changed the template forever.

It looked like a US campaign announcement straight from the Barack Obama style guide, and given the current economic environment that the Government itself describes as an unprecedented national challenge, seemed to be perhaps a little extravagant.

In the post-announcement press conference it was Ian McPhedran, the News Limited scribe and one of the oldest and wisest in the defence writers club, who suggested to the Prime Minister that the expensive props might have been a bit much.

The PM barely skipped a beat. She ploughed on like the seasoned and battle-hardened politician that she is.

"The arrangements that have been made for today are comparable to arrangements that have been made for past launches of white papers," she said.

But then when it comes to spending money, nothing does it quite like Defence. In this portfolio, if you're not talking in billions, no-one takes much notice.

Defence capability Purchase 12 new EA-18G Growlers

Purchase 12 new EA-18G Growlers 24 Super Hornets

24 Super Hornets 72 Joint Strike Fighters by the 2030s

72 Joint Strike Fighters by the 2030s Speed up replacement of Armidale Class Patrols

Speed up replacement of Armidale Class Patrols Not buying 4th Air Warfare Destroyer

Defending the nation is an expensive and complicated business, of course; as we were reminded again today, the spend on defence over the four-year forward estimate period is more than $100 billion and that's still less than the aspirations of both the Government and the Opposition.

Both say they want to see Defence spending increase to 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at some time in the future, when the economic situation allows it. At the moment, it's just 1.6 per cent of GDP.

And despite many of the reports leading up to today's much-anticipated announcement, this white paper actually set course for a modest increase in spending.

Of that money, $1.5 billion will be spent on 12 new specially kitted Growler Super Hornets.

This will bring the number of Super Hornets up to 36 and is effectively an insurance against further delays or complications with the JSF delivery. As we've seen, there's been a few of them already.

The plans to replace the Collins Class submarines have also been refined.

The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to funding 12 new subs, but now says that the option of buying them off the rack from elsewhere is no longer on the table.

Instead the new submarines will either be an evolution of the Collins design or something entirely new and designed specifically for Australia's needs.

A submarine test facility will be built in South Australia to facilitate further research.

An electronic warfare capable EA-18 Growler in flight ( Boeing )

The white paper suggests the Government is keen to retain the critical skills we'll need for further shipbuilding.

A fourth Air Warfare Destroyer will not be built, but replacements will be built for the fleet of patrol boats and the two supply ships. This will provide work for shipbuilding facilities in four states.

All of this is, according to the experts, eminently sensible. The white paper is a conservative and realistic document that on the whole does set a prudent course through some of the more difficult procurement issues Australia faces.

James Brown from the Lowy Institute says the Growler is a great electronic attack aircraft that does help bridge the gap given the problems with the JSFs.

Andrew Davies from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says "on balance it was a pretty good Defence white paper that did a much better job of matching aspirations and resources than the previous one".

That said, both of them, and the Opposition, say they would have liked to see more precise detail on how it's all going to be funded.

But then presumably next week's budget will help clear that up, and as they all know, this is a white paper that may well have a very limited shelf life.

The political reality of the moment suggests that this is being seen both here and in the region as an interim document.

The Opposition says they will produce a new white paper not long after the election if they win government.

But the really big shift in this white paper is the rhetoric on China.

In the 2009 Rudd white paper, China was seen as a threat.

"The pace, scope and structure of China's military modernisation have the potential to give its neighbours cause for concern," it said.

The language in the 2013 white paper is far more conciliatory and insists "the Government does not approach China as an adversary".

This white paper does represent a shift in emphasis for Australia after more than a decade focused on conflict in the Middle East.

Now we're retuning to the region, and just as the United States is "pivoting" to Asia, we are pivoting away from operations like Afghanistan and paying more attention to our own region.

In some ways it's a return to the strategic posture that we had 20 years ago: the defence of Australia and focusing on what we need to do as a country to defend ourselves while also engaging as best we can with our neighbours in the South Pacific and South-East Asia.

The difference is 20 years ago they didn't need a military band and a hangar full of props to back it up.