While Julia Gillard was preparing for her high-profile visit to China, less noticed by the Australian media was a visit to the United States from 1 to 4 April by Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien …
Jim Molan’s polemical article in Quadrant (March 2013) (and his précis on The Strategist last week) presents a target-rich environment. Putting aside what I’ll describe as Jim’s robust style of argument, he addresses the two …
There’s been a lot of reflection on Australian blogs and news sites about our role in the Iraq war, so for a change, here’s a piece that examines Iraq’s future political prospects and another that …
The combination of the rise of China, interest in new submarines and debates on the Army’s future role has sparked a renewed interest in maritime strategy. There are several alternative maritime strategies in play, often …
For a sovereign democratic nation, Andrew Davies’ contribution ‘The who, what, where, and why of the future submarine’ posits some alarming notions. The first relates to an assumption that irrespective of a direct threat to …
Recent media coverage of the Senkaku/Diaoyu stand-off has painted the picture of a powder-keg so dangerous it could force Australia to make stark Cold War-style choices; either helping to stare down or else bending over …
Asian powers are complicating an uninterrupted thirty-year peace by becoming a bumper market for the international and regional weapons trade. Now that standards of living in Asia are on the rise, and internal stability is …
North Korea’s latest nuclear test has been discussed from several angles: the level of technological progress of the regime; if China should and will end its support for its neighbour; and whether tougher sanctions by …
There’s been a lot of discussion about escalating tension between China and Japan. Over at East Asia Forum, Sourabh Gupta looks at what an agreement over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands might look like. On the same …
Brendan Taylor provides an eloquent critique of Ben Scheer’s recent post, but I don’t think I can agree with him. In his desire to ‘soften’ his former colleague’s line on China’s recent actions in the …
Welcome back for our pick of the defence and security world’s articles over the past week and listing of interesting events. Navy and fleet sizes The US Navy has reduced its fleet requirement from 313 …
Two big developments last week highlighted both the difficulties and the opportunities for Australian defence industry to make headway (as Australia sees it) in the so-called Asian century. The first development relates to a lost …