The Sino-Russian no-limits partnership is the driver of an anti-Western axis that seeks to weaken and reshape the global order that has underpinned Australia’s post-1945 prosperity and sovereignty. Naysayers may claim it isn’t an alliance, …
The Strategist on: "ASPI staff"
Debate over China’s role in Australia’s security has become polarised, with critics retreating to a familiar refrain: China is our largest trading partner, so any security concerns are exaggerated. That argument is not just incomplete; …
The widening conflict involving Iran is causing shipping disruptions that are threatening global fuel supplies. But this is only the latest reminder that economic vulnerability is strategic vulnerability. It reinforces that markets are now arenas …
When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered Australia a security and defence partnership in early 2025, Canberra barely noticed. That wasn’t surprising. Canberra’s strategic focus had long been anchored in the Indo-Pacific, with …
In 2024, China’s united front system tried to love-bomb Taiwanese youth through cross-strait exchanges and outreach programs designed to cultivate goodwill and influence. In 2025, Beijing returned to a more traditional playbook: shaping how Taiwan’s …
The US–Israeli military campaign against Iran is unlikely to extinguish the sparks of the regime’s nuclear program, one of the world’s top arms control experts says. This raises the prospect that diplomacy and deterrence will …
Australia’s fuel crisis has triggered a familiar response: emergency coordination, reactive policy adjustments and renewed political attention. But the important question is why Australia still responds this way at all. This week, Prime Minister Anthony …
Critical minerals supply chains are shaped as much by geography as policy or finance. Yet much of Australia’s national debate still centres on regulatory frameworks and capital markets rather than the physical places where processing …
When Baghdad’s night sky erupted in tracer fire and explosions in 1991, it meant more than just Operation Desert Storm’s commencement. The resulting CNN effect—whereby 24/7 news reporting covered events in real-time—threatened centuries-old modes of …
Tuesday’s meeting between the foreign and defence ministers of Australia and New Zealand was a nicely poised display of strategic alignment and statecraft. It balanced an ambitious plan to build an ANZAC platform of joint …
Australia’s military drone pilots are internationally competitive, and the army is beginning to benefit from skills that service personnel are developing privately. Nonetheless, the Australian Defence Force is still a long way from fielding drone …
As China pursues greater heights in frontier technology, it is also reckoning with the persistent problems of domestic demand, debt and demographic change. This was clear in the documents released after the National People’s Congress …