There’s a growing intimacy between two of Asia’s big naval powers and it’s causing disquiet among regional watchers and maritime policymakers. Russia and China are growing closer in the nautical realm, much to the chagrin …
Following the high profile infiltration of the DNC’s email servers earlier in this year, the FBI’s now working to allay concerns that vote counting machines could be next on the hit-list of would-be saboteurs. FBI …
‘Anti-access/area denial’ (commonly known as A2AD) has become a hot topic in recent years. Many have detailed the threats that A2AD weapons systems pose to the US military, especially its aircraft carriers. But those threats …
Under what circumstances would Australia join in a war against China? RAND’s report War with China: Thinking Through the Unthinkable (WwC) illuminates the gravity of that decision. WwC explores ‘two variables: intensity (from mild to …
Sea State China’s naval capacity received a big boost this past week with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) adding not one but two vessels to its fleet. The PLA-N launched a Type 052D Luyang …
US defence secretary Ashton Carter told the world at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue that ‘the US–Australia alliance is more and more a global one. As our two nations work together to uphold the freedom of navigation and …
It was a good week for women in Japan, with the country’s first female Defence Minister (2007), Yuriko Koike, breaking through another glass ceiling to become the first female governor of Tokyo—despite sharp opposition from …
The findings of the South China Sea Arbitration conducted at The Hague refutes China claim of indisputable sovereignty, and invalidates the ‘nine-dash line’ as a mechanism to delineate that claim—a heavy defeat for China. As …
Sea State There’s been plenty happening on the water this past week, with a number of incidents and training exercises taking place. On Friday, the Taiwanese navy mistakenly launched a supersonic missile in the direction …
Welcome to The Strategist Six, a feature that provides a glimpse into the thinking of prominent academics, analysts, government officials, military officers, reporters and interesting individuals from around the world. 1. Japan will head to …
Happy the democracy waging an election with little argument about foreign affairs and defence. The outside world isn’t pressing too hard. The threats are far off and chances are good. A democracy that dwells inward …
It’s funny how the same document can be perceived so differently. In his demolition job on New Zealand’s latest Defence White Paper, Peter Jennings sees Wellington plumbing ‘new depths of vacuity’ in its ‘desperation to …











