Further revelations of US intelligence activity, including tapping of friendly world leaders phones, has put Washington’s intelligence community on the defensive. The Economist writes: On October 29th, realising that the political mood in Washington was, …
How does the region perceive the US pivot? Here’s one perspective from Jakarta: Asia would welcome a US policy that will, of necessity, be vastly different from the 2011 pivot, and one that is more realistic and less …
The US and Japan agreed to expand defence cooperation during Secretaries Kerry and Hagel’s visit to Tokyo this week. Hagel said: Our bilateral defense cooperation, including America’s commitment to the security of Japan, is a …
US Secretary of State John Kerry finds it hard to focus on Asia, writes Robert Kaplan. John Kerry has made his choice. Chaos in the Middle East is more important to him than historic power …
Last week’s Australian election has raised the question of how the new Abbott government will manage our foreign and security policies. Here we have Michael Fullilove and Hugh White in the New York Times and …
The big story this week is still Syria, and expectation has reached a fevered pitch. The Economist writes that …The congressional votes and the action to follow [will be] one of those episodes that will …
This week defence issues have been a bigger part of the election campaign than they were previously. The two big events on the calendar were Kevin Rudd’s address to the Lowy Institute and ASPI’s great …
Following what was probably a chemical weapon attack in Syria last week, the White House appears to be moving closer to possible military action (and here). But while there is tremendous pressure on President Obama …
Mixed defence news for India this week: the county’s first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine was activated days before an incident in which the kilo-class submarine INS Sindhurakshak exploded. Eighteen Indian sailors are feared dead. The Economist …
T.X. Hammes has a new article in The National Interest, ‘Sorry, AirSea Battle Is No Strategy’ in which he argues that war with China won’t be won by deep strikes. Distant, defensive deterrence and blockades …
The normalisation of tension on the Korean Peninsula is settling onto its foundations, with South Korea pledging US$7.3 million of humanitarian aid to North Korea over the weekend. The move came one day before South …
Japan has released Defence Of Japan 2013, its annual defence white paper—ASPI’s Ben Schreer had a piece on it earlier in the week. The document shows increasing tension in Tokyo over security in North East Asia. The …
