In my last post, I looked at the latest information on the life-of-type extension program for the Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarines. That’s essentially Defence’s strategic risk mitigator for its long submarine transition. But it’s …
Debate: "General"
Innovation by authoritarian nations in the ‘grey zone’ is becoming one of the most serious challenges facing contemporary democracies. It has long been recognised that future conflicts might be won before any shots are fired. …
A few years ago, an American friend of mine cocked an eye at me sceptically when I raised the issue of Australia’s air force buying F-22 Raptors from the United States. ‘It won’t happen,’ he …
Last week, with little fanfare, Australia’s last six soldiers departed Kabul on a RAAF aircraft. Australia shut up its intelligence and diplomatic presence in Afghanistan. Incredibly, it’s now been reported that Foreign Affairs Minister Marise …
Last week it emerged that the Western Australian government, in an apparent attempt to appease the Chinese Communist Party, had given itself the right to stop people from hiring certain public venues if they identify …
Globalisation is back with such a vengeance that the shipping lines are struggling to keep up, sending freight rates to astronomic levels. The onset of the pandemic early last year slashed trade volumes and highlighted …
Australia’s strategic environment is changing rapidly. Once shaped exclusively by traditional security concerns where what mattered most were our military alliances, the state of our armed forces and diplomacy, today’s environment is increasingly shaped by …
Across the Middle East, alliances are shifting in unexpected ways. What does the emerging configuration mean for a region that is seemingly eternally walking a thin line between war and peace? The ongoing shifts are …
A tumultuous two weeks in South Africa have propelled corruption into international headlines after the country’s Constitutional Court jailed former president Jacob Zuma for contempt of court. On 7 July, Zuma, a man known for …
Darwin Harbour and the port facilities along its eastern arm have a long history of disregard, disrepair and haphazard investment and control by successive governments dating back to the close of World War II. There has …
More than 30 countries across Europe, North America and Asia yesterday joined in revealing and condemning the Chinese government’s Ministry of State Security’s work with Chinese cyber hackers and cybercriminals to hack companies, governments and …
The French government’s decision to hold New Caledonia’s third independence referendum in December this year signals the early termination of the Noumea Accord, the last of the pacts that have underpinned stability in Australia’s near …