It is good to see Ben Schreer and Nick Bisley set out so clearly the questions that lie unanswered at the heart of Australia’s foreign policy today. They ask whether we’re really serious about defending …
Articles by: "Hugh White"
In my new Quarterly Essay, I argue that Australia may have to rethink the acquisition of nuclear weapons in the post-American Asia which I believe is now upon us. Paul Dibb has recently made a …
Paul Dibb and Richard Brabin-Smith have written a significant ASPI paper that may well mark a turning point in Australia’s efforts to adapt to the new strategic circumstances we confront in Asia. That policymakers of …
Last week Prime Minister Turnbull committed Australia to join the United States in a war with North Korea. His remarks were strangely brief and informal for such a weighty issue, and left it rather unclear …
John McCain’s speech in Sydney this week offered an emotionally-appealing restatement of the orthodox, establishment view of Australia’s alliance with America. In doing so the veteran Republican senator showed quite plainly why that view is …
Everyone agrees that we should, whenever possible, buy military equipment based closely on existing designs rather than new ones. Doing so results in lower costs, lower risks and quicker delivery. So why aren’t we going …
It’s hard to be confident that the project to replace the Collins-class submarines is in good shape. There is no reason to doubt that France makes very good submarines but there are many reasons to …
Most of us would agree that the Fall of Singapore in February 1942 remains the biggest strategic shock Australia has ever received, but we pay too little attention to why it was such a shock, …
In the unsettled weeks since Donald Trump’s election, many prominent voices in Australia’s strategic policy community—including Kim Beazley , Dennis Richardson, Angus Houston and of course Malcolm Turnbull—have rushed to answer the question whether Mr …
It’s easy to see why the Indo-Pacific concept is so popular in both Canberra and Washington. Managing China’s rise would be much easier if East Asia and South Asia really do coalesce to form a …
In mid-March 1996, about two weeks after the federal election that brought John Howard’s Coalition to power, the new defence minister Ian McLachlan set off in a RAAF VIP plane to visit some of the …
I haven’t read the dozen-odd volumes of the full Chilcot Report, but I can recommend the 150-odd page Executive Summary. It’s a valuable document and a welcome affirmation, in troubled times, of the principles of …