Trade minister Simon Birmingham on Sunday weighed into the debate over Andrew Hastie’s warning about China rise. Birmingham said colleagues should ask themselves two questions before speaking out on ‘sensitive foreign policy matters’. These were: ‘Is …
Economic warfare is being fought with an intensity not seen since the period leading up to World War II as countries deploy tariffs, embargoes and economic sanctions to force policy changes or punish their adversaries. …
There’s been a lot of talk lately about lots of submarines and fighter jets playing a role in Australia’s security. But in all the excitement of contemplating future battles between fleets of submarines and fortuitously …
Recently I considered the differences between American and European understandings of technology in a strategic context. There’s a further wrinkle to be teased out concerning a specific group of Western nations: those that belong to …
The global debate has shifted beyond why we shouldn’t trust Chinese telecommunications company Huawei to why we can’t trust any equipment vendor. How can we trust US companies after the Edward Snowden disclosures? Doesn’t the …
This year is proving to be something of a watershed in technology. Government and professional bodies are considering or acting on controls around technologies such as artificial intelligence and encryption. The United States, like Australia …
When I left government in 2018 one of my key concerns was that I didn’t think we fully understood the implications of technology for national security. Technology is going to be a core aspect of …
The world The diplomatic mega-event of the year, the G20 summit, was held in Japan last weekend. Caitlin Byrne nicely captured the main highlights in her post in The Conversation. Not surprisingly, US President Donald …
US President Donald Trump has been accused of weaponising economic globalisation. Sanctions, tariffs and the restriction of access to US dollars have been major instruments of his foreign policy, and he has been unconstrained by …
Back in the 1990s and 2000s, Australian perceptions of the bilateral relationship with China were marked by a surprising degree of unanimity. Without implying that the clustering of opinion was confined to Australia’s capital city, …
US strategic competition with China has triggered considerable debate about the implications for Australia. Thus far, commentators have judged US President Donald Trump’s approach towards China and the Indo-Pacific mostly negatively. Some analysts have feared …
Sea state Two Canadian warships passed through the Taiwan Strait last week. During the transit, Canada alleges that two Chinese Su-30 fighter jets made a low pass within 300 metres of one of the vessels. …
