Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran continue to endure their mental torture, awaiting a final decision on their execution. It’s a slim hope but Indonesia’s political and judicial systems are opaque and bendable enough that their …
In this installment of Rapid Fire, we take a look at the ground campaign in Iraq, concerns over Shia militias, use of chemical weapons by Islamic State, foreign fighters in Nigeria, Putin’s reasoning for annexing …
Cyclone Pam—Category 5—has hammered Vanuatu. An estimated 260,000 people were in the disaster zone when the cyclone struck on Friday and continued over the islands on Saturday. The cyclone is one of the biggest to …
In this week’s post, we cover intelligence leaks, supersonic engines, the contentious LRS-B funding plan, gaps in close air support capability, and the most powerful rocket booster ever built. Last week, Chinese state media reported …
When under fire from both sides of a debate it’s comforting to imagine one occupies the sensible middle ground. Of course it probably just shows one hasn’t made a coherent case. I’m grateful, then, that …
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has declared its intent to establish a fully integrated Community that extends across the economic, political, security and social realms by the end of 2015. Such a regional …
The joint Commonwealth and NSW Review into the Martin Place siege released last month has a section on public communication. Among its findings, the Review praised the media for a job well done during the …
As ASPI’s Future Surface Fleet conference draws closer, we take a look at the three design options, some of the international design contenders and the debate around the build location for Australia’s future frigate under …
Some costs and benefits of Australia’s Foreign Affairs revolution are clear. The revolution was DFAT swallowing AusAID (Pre-FAT eats WasAID, in Casey Building argot), crunching together diplomatic pinstripes and aidies. A benefit for the Abbott …
Welcome back for another serve of the latest defence and security links, media and events, this week coming to you from the Brisbane Line. As the government’s data retention legislation waits in the wings, the …
The Future Submarine (FSM) project has been the subject of significant commentary over recent months, leading to the statement by Defence Minister Andrews on 20 February on the structure and conduct of the competitive evaluation …
In a recent blog post Mitchell Yates made a useful contribution to the land forces debate in Australia. But—again—when we attempt to define what the Australian Army’s role may or may not be we fall …