Keeping the country safe is the first duty of government and should be the constant concern of those with responsibility for our well-being. But I worry that a decade or so hence, maybe sooner, Australia …
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces several pressing issues over the next few years, many of which are linked to his commitment to revising Article 9 of the Japanese constitution. Under what’s known as the …
Since the 1960s, Australia and Japan have built one of Asia’s closest partnerships. I was going to say one of Asia’s most unusual, but lots of relationships in this region are strange. When times get …
If the RAN holds firm to the Barracuda Shortfin Block 1A concept offered by DCNS it will acquire an orphan no informed Navy would contemplate commissioning into service. It will own a submarine that will …
When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe arrives in Australia today, the second stop on a four-nation regional tour, he and his team will have thought deeply about the state of the Australia–Japan relationship, what it …
I spoke on the subject of the deterrent value of submarines at the Submarine Institute of Australia annual conference yesterday. I was preaching to the choir with that crowd, but I’m often asked at public …
Mike Carlton is now distinguished by his own efforts with the pen as an able chronicler of the Royal Australian Navy, in two World Wars and in the brief interregnum of peace, 1919–1939. In both …
While I was ambassador to the US, I visited Electric Boat’s yard in Groton, Connecticut, where the US Navy’s latest Virginia-class nuclear submarines are under construction. This wasn’t an indulgence. Part of my job was …
I’d like to make some comments about the recent Australian Defence White Paper, comparing it with some strategic documents published by the Government of Japan (GoJ). I have great respect for the effort that’s been …
Back in February 2015, Prime Minister Tony Abbott was gearing up to gift the contract to build Australia’s future submarines to the Government of Japan. The press release had been drafted and the announcement was …
DCNS of France has been selected as our preferred international partner for the design of the 12 Future Submarines, subject to further discussions on commercial matters. The next generation of submarines for Australia will be …
When I read material in the mainstream press about the Future Submarine, I can feel my eyeballs twitching a lot these days. All the contenders (the government of Japan with support from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, …











