Debate: "General"
China’s Cambodia gambit

The news that China and Cambodia may have signed a secret agreement for Beijing to have long-term control over part of Cambodia’s Ream naval base, with the right to base People’s Liberation Army naval vessels, …

Can US–Pakistan relations be reset?

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recently concluded three-day visit to Washington was aimed at resetting US–Pakistan relations. The relationship has been under great strain for several years and reached its nadir after the assumption of …

Syria: a war with no winners

One of the frustrating and tragic aspects of the Syrian conflict is its capacity to regenerate in ever-more complex guises. So many players are involved, both internal and external, that the conventional media have pretty …

Morrison’s Forrest Gump moment

Scott Morrison has been touched by Forrest Gump magic. Come the election, the prime minister went into full Forrest mode: ‘Run, ScoMo, run!’ A federal election is like a box of chocolates. You never know …

How not to defend Australia

Hugh White’s How to defend Australia is an elegant book but also something of a party trick: engagingly clever but not realistic. It will be essential reading for every national security master’s degree by coursework …

ASPI suggests

The world China this week released its new defence white paper titled China’s national defense in the new era—see here for the English version. Australia is mentioned a grand total of once in the 51-page …

Five Eyes in the Library of Babel

Recently I considered the differences between American and European understandings of technology in a strategic context. There’s a further wrinkle to be teased out concerning a specific group of Western nations: those that belong to …