A surprising defence-technology partnership is emerging between Japan and the UK. The cooperation is mostly preliminary but not at all basic: the two countries are working together on some of the most challenging systems used …
Sea state The first of Canada’s 15 new frigates is expected to be in the water in just over a decade, two to three years later than estimated. The ultra-modern combat vessels are modelled on …
There has been nothing like it before in Poland. On 10 February, newspapers and magazines suspended publication, news websites went dark, and dozens of radio and television stations ceased broadcasting. Thirty years after the fall …
The dominant response to the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February has been, ‘Here we go again.’ Media commentary has highlighted the strong similarities between recent events and the 1988 coup, explained by the …
The effectiveness with which Russia and China have been able to exploit situations to make territorial gains has exposed a chronic vulnerability for collective defence regimes. Collective defence risks becoming unfit for an era of …
In my most recent article, I noted that the Department of Defence appears to be in the early stages of identifying a ship-launched land-attack missile for acquisition. The government assessed in its 2020 defence strategic …
China’s new law giving the China Coast Guard more freedom to use force has increased the concerns of China’s neighbours. The Philippines filed a formal rejection of it on 27 January, emphasising that, given the large …
Critics of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Beijing in particular, have long portrayed the grouping of Australia, Japan, India and the US as a Trojan horse for an ‘Asian NATO’ designed to balance China’s growing power …
There are many ways to respond to a serious crisis, but hyperbole and panic should not be among them. Some commentators have elevated the leadership controversy within the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) to an existential …
Xi Jinping’s control over the China Coast Guard, together with a new law that authorises the coastguard to use force against foreign ships in places China defines as in its own, is a big change …
The imposition of US sanctions on the generals of Myanmar last week suggests that economic coercion will remain the first resort for President Joe Biden when confronting international crises. Sanctions are a clear expression of …
In 2012, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pulled Europe from the depths of economic crisis with his famous promise to do ‘whatever it takes’ to save the euro. Now, Draghi’s native Italy is hoping …
‘Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the strange) Ch-ch-changes Don’t want to be a richer man Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the strange) Ch-ch-changes There’s gonna have to be a different man Time may change me But I …
In this episode of the ASPI podcast, The Strategist’s Anastasia Kapetas speaks with James Goldgeier, professor at American University and Robert Bosch Senior Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, about the Biden administration’s response to …
As tensions rise over China’s recent aggressive air patrolling across the Taiwan Strait, and concern mounts that Beijing may stage a provocation to coerce Taipei and test the mettle of President Joe Biden and his …
As we reach the pointy end of the Australian government’s negotiation on the mandatory news media bargaining code, it’s worth thinking through some of the consequences if the code becomes law. The most dramatic would …
When the Mamas and Papas sang ‘The darkest hour is just before dawn’, they referenced an age-old belief that dire events appear bleakest just before they improve. Certainly, the rise in Covid-19 deaths and cases …
‘We all know what to do, but we don’t know how to get re-elected once we have done it.’ — Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg ‘Since a politician never believes what he says, he …
Last month, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds put out a media release announcing a boost to Australia’s maritime security. Its focus was the navy’s weapons program. The announcement had a medley of numbers—a $1 billion investment …
The biggest wave of protests in years has swept Russia, raising hopes that popular pressure will persist and intensify, gradually eroding an autocratic regime, as is happening in neighbouring Belarus. But we should be wary …