On 14 July, after months of controversy, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare publicly ruled out the possibility that his security pact with Beijing would result in a Chinese military base in his country. Many …
Articles by: "John Coyne"
Northern Australia is becoming increasingly important to the United States and its Indo-Pacific presence. What is less clear for industry, community and state and territory stakeholders is what US–Australia defence cooperation looks like in northern …
Last week, ASPI researcher Albert Zhang shone a spotlight on a sophisticated Chinese Communist Party information campaign targeting rare earths and Australian company Lynas. This research has powerful implications for those policymakers seeking to create …
Northern Australia has always been a big place, with much of its diverse social and economic activity unseen from the outside. Even before the ink was dry on Australia’s constitution, translating policy developed in the …
While many in Canberra will view the failure of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to secure a regional Pacific agreement as a relief, Australia’s new government will have to deal with a steadily increasing number …
It took a while, but the idea that Australia’s strategic environment has become more uncertain seems to have been accepted by policymakers. Also largely accepted is that this period won’t just pass—in time, historians might …
The Australian Federal Police’s international collaboration efforts have long been the crown jewel of the nation’s law enforcement engagement. The AFP’s international liaison network is the most visible and operationally successful element of these efforts. It is, …
The signing of the security pact between China and Solomons Islands represents one of the gravest Australian diplomatic and intelligence failures in more than half a decade. This failure didn’t just happen, nor is it the result …
If you’re confused about what’s happening with the Port of Darwin after last week’s federal budget and the media coverage that followed, you’re not the only one. It’s always a challenge to penetrate the veil …
During World War II, hushed voices in Nazi-occupied Europe shared the words, ‘The Americans are coming!’ At the time, it was a message of hope among many Europeans who felt utterly helpless. February marked the …
After two very long years, there’s a sense of optimism emerging in Australia that the worst of Covid-19 might be behind us. It’s tempting to assume that if we see the beginning of the end …
In 2000, it appeared that international borders were becoming less and less important. Between then and 2020, most Australians seemed comfortably unaware that international travel was only more accessible for those with the ‘right’ passports. …