Political leaders are no longer speaking the language of seamless globalisation; they are describing a world defined by fragmentation, strategic rivalry and coercion below the threshold of war. They are calling out in plain terms …
The Strategist on: "ASPI staff"
Last week’s parliamentary committee hearings confirmed the need for, and the risks of, the Defence Estate Audit. The audit was meant to improve infrastructure efficiency. Instead, it has exposed a deeper strategic problem: Australians are …
In the space of just a few days, two big US tech companies took different approaches to China’s cyberattacks. Palo Alto Networks generically referred to a global cyber espionage operation by unnamed actors while Google …
The imminent visit to Perth of a British nuclear attack submarine (SSN) clearly demonstrates Britain’s commitment to AUKUS, going ahead despite the Royal Navy’s current challenges in deploying its SSNs. The visit is also a …
While Australia’s defence strategy has moved north at speed, its permanent workforce has not. The latest analysis product from ASPI’s Northern Australia Policy Centre maps the distribution of regular Australian Defence Force members across Australia …
Beijing has temporarily adjusted how its military operates across the Indo-Pacific. This includes less aggressive behaviour from flotillas sailing deep into the region and its military engagements inside the first island chain. But it’s a …
Northern Australia is where economic security stops being a slogan and starts being tested. What sounds abstract in Canberra becomes brutally practical in Darwin, Tindal and the Barkly, where distance, infrastructure, workforce and sustainment constraints …
China has built not only a military to coerce Taiwan, but an army of lawyers to intimidate and constrain it. In 2025, Beijing’s lawfare campaign shifted decisively from largely declaratory threats to active enforcement. The …
Since the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, the government has spoken often and loudly about the strategic importance of northern Australia. The language has been consistent: a more dangerous region, a need to operate from Australia’s …
For the first time in its 47-year history, Australia’s Office of National Intelligence (ONI, previously Office of National Assessments [ONA]) is led by a woman: Kathy Klugman, senior diplomat and prime-ministerial adviser. Today’s deteriorating strategic …
China’s ambassador has chosen a public platform to apply pressure on Australia, shape domestic debate and threaten retaliation over a sovereign national-security decision. With this, Beijing has transformed a policy review on Chinese control of …
By decisively consolidating his personal power, President Xi Jinping’s latest purge of senior military leadership increases strategic risk for Australia and the rest of the Indo-Pacific. The investigation of two of China’s most senior military …