In 2013, the Tasmanian government signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s State Oceanic Administration to provide support services for Chinese Antarctic expeditions. Under the agreement, Chinese vessels were given access to Hobart’s port and …
In a new ASPI report, titled Ocean horizons, we examine how Pacific island countries and Indian Ocean island states are managing and prioritising their maritime security challenges. The Indo-Pacific islands face an intricate offshore tapestry: …
In a recent article in The Australian, I argued that the next step in our Pacific step-up should be recruiting Pacific islanders into the ADF. The measure fits with the ‘Pacific family’ idea, as it’s …
Corporations already protect their assets and functions. However, considering business capabilities as part of our national security capabilities isn’t normally a factor in corporate planning. In a new report released today, From board room to …
In the ‘Vision statement on the Australia–France relationship’ published last May, Malcolm Turnbull and Emmanuel Macron said they ‘welcomed the project to map environmental risks in the south of the Indian Ocean and the Southern …
Last week I spoke at a workshop sponsored by the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre and the National Security College at the ANU on the topic ‘How does the “Pacific” fit into the “Indo-Pacific”? The changing …
The $3.9 billion emergency response fund announced in the Morrison government’s pre-election budget will resonate with the tens of thousands of Australians who, over recent months, have suffered terribly from record-setting droughts, floods and bushfires. …
Australia’s national intelligence community (NIC) has grown and evolved significantly in recent years. But its key oversight and accountability mechanisms have remained comparatively unchanged and legislatively constrained. By their very nature, intelligence agencies need to …
As part of the Australian government’s Pacific push, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced an Australian infrastructure financing facility to support essential infrastructure development in the region. The move echoes earlier calls from the Labor …
In Australia, there’s a tendency to see Israel purely through the lens of the Palestinian issue and the peace process. But there’s really no country in the Middle East whose interests are more closely aligned …
As a backgrounder to the APEC meeting in Port Moresby this week, we recently set out in The Australian some of the broad maritime and border security issues Papua New Guinea faces. Here we’d like …
There are more than 120,000 licensed security guards in Australia. No one knows the exact number as each jurisdiction has a different way of defining security operators and determining who should be licensed and how. Some …
