The current debate on Defence funding, sparked by our 29 May report The Cost of Defence: ASPI Defence budget brief 2025–2026, and a subsequent US request for Australia to spend more, has swung between a …
The Strategist on: "Strategist Essay"
Beijing deployed a naval task group to the waters around Australia for three related reasons. First, to demonstrate the reach and potency of Chinese sea power and to put Australia on notice that it is …
China has perfected a system that can no longer see itself; its only remaining mirror is the world beyond its borders. For most of its modern history, the Chinese Communist Party has reformed only when …
Picture yourself on a battlefield. It’s cold, the snow covers the ground, yet the sun shines brightly overhead. You gaze over the landscape and at your fellow soldiers. The prospects for the future seem grim. …
Oft-repeated, because it is true, Australia faces the most complex strategic circumstances since World War II. Instability and near-term risk of major armed conflict in our region are real. The circumnavigation of Australia by Chinese …
On the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, there is renewed focus on nuclear weapons in international security. China and other nuclear-armed states within Australia’s extended region are expanding their arsenals, with little …
Look beyond the so-called stabilisation of diplomatic ties between Australia and China. Look beyond Beijing’s lifting of trade bans and its ending of the freeze on ministerial dialogue that began in 2020. China’s unfair trade …
The current debate on Defence funding, sparked by our 29 May report The Cost of Defence: ASPI Defence budget brief 2025–2026, and a subsequent US request for Australia to spend more, has swung between a …
Australia hosts several joint Australian-American facilities and provides the US with privileged access to a range of functions that are performed at Australian facilities. As a consequence, Australia is deeply integrated into US strategies of …
Beijing would have us believe that Australian politicians cannot speak openly and honestly about China’s geopolitical ambitions without fear of losing Chinese-Australian voters. Don’t fall for it: Chinese-background voters are as divided and cantankerous as …
This article was first published on 7 February 2025. In January, I crossed the milestone of 24 years of service in two militaries—the British and Australian armies. It is fair to say that I am …
When the US Navy’s Great White Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1908, it was an unmistakeable signal of imperial might, a flexing of America’s newfound naval muscle. More than a century later, the Chinese …