Since late 2013, Beijing has been promoting its ‘Maritime Silk Route’ (MSR) initiative as a proposed oceanic complement to its various overland ‘Silk Route’ projects. Details remain sketchy, but the proposal appears to envisage a …
Debate: "General"
When I heard the successor to Chuck Hagel as ‘Sec Def’ was going to be Ash Carter, I couldn’t help but be a little interested. Carter is a friend and former dissertation committee member of …
Next Tuesday, ASPI will release the first publication of a continuing, open-source study of the coalition campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The report is an important part of ASPI’s …
Inadvertently, Fiji has done Australia a favour in the diplomatic duel over what the South Pacific future should look like. Granted, you have to work hard to find positives in the arid argument that has …
Kicking us off, War is Boring carries a piece on the ‘distressing and predictable’ effect of mortars used by state and non-state forces in Africa and the Middle East. Data collected over three years indicated …
The use of lethal robots in conflict is inevitable. When it happens, it’ll create a significant shift in the ways of warfare. A discussion has already begun (see here and here) on how such capabilities …
While the Australian Government has already made its decision to go ahead with procuring a total of 72 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, there’s still cause to watch the progress of the development program. Australia will …
The Bay of Bengal has long been the poor cousin of the long Asian littoral. Thailand is often seen as one of the Asian ‘Tigers’, but Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka missed out on the …
Last week, the New York Times reported that the post-2014 mission in Afghanistan is expanding, at least for US forces. The move ‘ensures American troops will have a direct role in fighting in the war-ravaged …
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation often cancels the passports of suspected terrorists, and has increasingly done so to prevent Australians joining jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq. ASIO has issued adverse security assessments for more …
Yes, it’s a good thing that the debate about the possibility of buying the F-35B has ‘opened up’. But that’s simply because it’s good to talk. Politics will prevent it from maturing beyond a completely …
The Bay of Bengal is fast becoming a key area of economic and strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific. It’s the largest bay in the world and forms an important, if neglected, part of southern Asia. …