Whoever becomes prime minister after the election will face a sobering moment in Australia’s China policy. It will show starkly why the policy that has had bipartisan support since Australia’s diplomatic opening to China in …
Articles by: "Michael Shoebridge"
The 2016 defence white paper and the decades-long integrated investment program will deliver a future force that includes 72 joint strike fighters, several hundred infantry fighting vehicles, nine new frigates and 12 new submarines. F-35 …
Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s announcement of a $44 million ‘National Foundation for Australia–China Relations’ to harness efforts of the private sector, cultural organisations, NGOs, state and federal agencies, and the Chinese-Australian community ‘to turbo-charge our …
The looming UK decision on 5G and Huawei has profound consequences for the UK, for the four other members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group (the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and for the …
Our coal exports to China sneezed last week, but the market and media reactions to the sniffle were as if the gravy train that is our $15 billion coal trade with China had come down …
The recent debate here on The Strategist between Paul Dibb and Hugh White over how Australia ought to respond to an unprovoked Chinese attack on the island of Taiwan touches upon an issue of deep …
Australian policymakers’ attitude to the role of northern Australia in the nation’s defence mimics a cicada’s life cycle. For a brief period, it’s out in the world, flying around and making a huge amount of …
Originally published 20 September 2018. 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 …
When he announced his decision to remove the 2,000 US troops in Syria, US President Donald Trump tweeted, ‘We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.’ The …
It’s a fantastic idea: given the government is spending some 36.4 billion taxpayer dollars on defence, much of which is in the 10-year, $200 billion investment program buying major weapon systems, it makes sense to …
Flying home on Air Force One last Saturday, President Donald Trump talked to reporters about his successful dinner chat with General Secretary Xi Jinping, declaring: It’s an incredible deal. It goes down, certainly—if it happens, …
The APEC meeting in Port Moresby will have been a shock to Chinese President Xi Jinping, because it showed that his assertive approach to using China’s growing power is now facing fairly broad trouble. This …