The ritual is now familiar. A user calls Grok, the AI model used on social media platform X, into a political argument. Grok gives a mainstream, citation-driven answer. Instead of settling anything, it becomes fresh …
The Strategist on: "ASPI staff"
Australia and Japan should split the burden of protecting critical sea lines of communication (SLOC) in the Pacific. In an ASPI special report published today, Japan-Australia defence cooperation in the Pacific: The case for a partial division of …
In a blizzard of pre-holidays defence diplomacy, Defence Minister Richard Marles has, in his own words, been ‘doubling down on friends’. His weekend sprint to Tokyo to meet Japan’s new defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, was …
Australia’s spending on the Boeing MQ-28A Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) is set to soar to new heights after a successful test in which the fighter-like drone demonstrated its ability to shoot down an …
The next National Defence Strategy (NDS), expected in early 2026, should deliver something Australia has long lacked: a strategic narrative that tells the public what truly matters to our security, what threatens it, and how …
A major sore point in India’s relations with its Western partners is its continuing empathetic relations with Russia, especially since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. So there was considerable attention on Russian …
Don’t despair but don’t relax. It was a profoundly important message delivered last week by Australia’s director-general of national intelligence, Andrew Shearer. The placid period that followed the end of the Cold War, so comfortable …
At ASPI’s Sydney Dialogue on 5 December, Director-General of National Intelligence Andrew Shearer reflected on major geopolitical trends. In a discussion with ASPI executive director Justin Bassi, Shearer said that ‘the biggest, most consequential change …
Before its release on 4 December, the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy (NSS) had been expected to emphasise increased defence burden-sharing among allies and partners; a refresh of US priorities, placing ‘America First’; a more …
The Australian Defence Force needs to expand and accelerate acquisition of autonomous equipment to achieve a rapid increase in force-structure numbers and capability. This is necessary to reinforce Australia’s strategy of deterrence by denial and …
News last week that China had published a white paper on arms control seemed promising, because it raised hopes that Beijing would provide some rationale or plan for its nuclear expansion of the past few …
Executive director Justin Bassi’s foreword for ASPI’s The Sydney Dialogue 2025, being held on 4 and 5 December. Technology is one of the most powerful forces shaping our world. It can empower societies or …