Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given an expansive speech about Australia’s strategy for the South Pacific. And he’s backed his words with new resources—some $2 billion in funding for infrastructure and $1 billion in financial …
Articles by: "Michael Shoebridge"
Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr has been nominated by Donald Trump to be the new US ambassador to Australia. He will need to be ‘confirmed’ by Congress before he takes up the appointment, a process that …
I admire the sophistication and drive of the Chinese state in manoeuvring within Australia’s federal system of government to secure official sign-up to President Xi Jinping’s signature geostrategic and economic initiative—the Belt and Road Initiative. …
Research by Chinese scientists in Australian and other Five Eyes nations’ universities increases China’s military capability and is not in our national interest. China sends its military scientists into our universities for one reason—because it …
So, 71 years after its creation, the Australian Signals Directorate has stepped out of the shadows. Last night ASD Director-General Mike Burgess gave probably the most broad-ranging public outline of the work of a modern, …
The alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi Arabia is one of four big events in our world this year showing that human rights and hard-edged national security have converged. It’s not …
Populists get a bad name. They are accused of riding the wave of public sentiment to disrupt and overturn good, sensible things. Populists can, however, sometimes spot changes before others do—and there are times when …
I remember a fear strategic thinkers had less than a decade ago was that the US and China would agree between themselves how they would share power and influence, and that they would govern the …
The relationship between the Australian and Chinese governments would benefit from a clearer declaration from Australia about what is and is not in our national interest in engaging with the Chinese state and economy. This …
When governments send their militaries into conflicts, the forces usually suffer combat losses—deaths of people and destruction of machines. Between East Timor in 1999 and now, though, there have been (only) 60 deaths as a …
Scott Morrison is on his first overseas trip as prime minister—and it’s to Indonesia. The immediate purpose is for Morrison and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo to announce their two countries’ assent to a free trade …
Scott Morrison took a step last week that will define him as prime minister, but it wasn’t about getting party room numbers. It was his announcement as acting minister for home affairs that effectively banned two big …