The space age has gone through two paradigm shifts since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957. Until the early 1990s, ‘Space 1.0’ was the province of government-run, taxpayer-funded space programs. Civil space agencies such …
Debate: "General"
With the global geopolitical centre of gravity shifting towards Asia, a pluralistic, rules-based Indo-Pacific order is more important than ever, including for America’s own global standing. So it was good news when, two years ago, …
Under the premiership of Shinzo Abe, Japan appears to have found its feet as a regional and global actor. By providing political stability and policy continuity at home, Abe’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, along with …
Indonesia and Australia have a vital role to play together in guiding the diverse nations of the Indo-Pacific towards a future of peace and stability. This is a region of accelerating economic power with over …
Language and rhetoric are important in a time of consequential power shifts and may even form a key front in Asia’s great-power rivalry—especially now, looking at US strategy in the region. Washington’s declared strategy of …
Two competing narratives might explain why China’s authoritarian communist rulers have so far displayed a relatively hands-off attitude towards the increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong, now in their sixth straight month and entering a …
Sea state The Australian government has gifted a Guardian-class patrol boat, the RSIPV Gizo, to the Solomon Islands. It’s the fifth Guardian-class boat that Austal Australia has delivered to the Australian Department of Defence under …
Extinction Rebellion protests calling for climate-change action can be annoying when they stop you in traffic or make idealistic but impracticable demands for policies that will keep the global temperature rise to under 1.5°C. And …
Israel is on a collision course with Iran as it accelerates its nuclear development and increases its activities in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, experts have warned. The potential for an escalation of tensions between two …
The Economist recently contrasted the cold shoulder that Russian President Vladimir Putin received at the 2014 Brisbane G20 Summit in the wake of his annexation of Crimea, invasion of Ukraine and downing of the MH17 …
Annual WPS stocktake On 29 October the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2493, reaffirming its commitment to the full and continuing implementation of all previous resolutions pertaining to WPS. Although the resolution was unanimously adopted …
On 16 August, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hinted that India might abandon its no-first-use policy: ‘Till today, our nuclear policy is “no first use”. What happens in future depends on the circumstances.’ Singh was speaking …