Thinking about China’s nuclear weapons

At a recent ‘track 2’ meeting between Americans and Australians, China’s nuclear arsenal was the subject of considerable debate. In the view of one participant, Beijing’s actual number of strategic nuclear weapons is much higher …

Antarctic sovereignty: are we serious?

Guest editor Anthony Bergin Eighty years ago Australia received from Great Britain its largest ever gift: six million square kilometres of Antarctica. Three years later it became the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT). 42% of the …

Economists and strategists

A couple of weeks back, ASPI hosted a half-day meeting between economists and strategists. The goal was to explore how the two groups can cooperate in a public policy sense. It turned out to be …

The ANZAC spirit can prevent war

“We laughed, knowing that better men would come, And greater wars: when each proud fighter brags He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags.” – Wilfred Owen, The Next War Australia and New …

Bioprospecting in the frozen continent

Guest editor Anthony Bergin If I were an Australian scientist excited by the prospect of novelty in Antarctic-derived organic material or processes, I might have a tough time getting there, collecting my samples and bringing …

Cutting our cloth – part II

In my previous post, I found myself agreeing with Jim Molan that the ADF was in danger of entering a period of serious decline in its ability to maintain capability. The combination of tight budgets and …

Dennis Richardson and Arthur Tange: part II

My previous column compared the only Australian mandarins who have headed both Foreign Affairs and Defence, Dennis Richardson and Arthur Tange. To further pursue that comparison, step forward two other mandarins: Philip Flood, former Secretary …