The most obvious response to the Chinese intelligence-gathering ship snooping around in Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Coral Sea would have been to put an RAAF P-3 maritime patrol aircraft right over the top …
Two of the largest marketplaces on the dark web, AlphaBay and Hansa Market, have been taken down by a joint US and Europol operation. By Europol’s count, AlphaBay alone had over 200,000 users, 250,000 listings …
At the 2017 Munich Security Conference, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced the end of the post–Cold War world and Russia’s aim to build a ‘post-West’ world order. That caused a huge outcry, mostly among …
Peter Jennings accurately described the contrast between two examples of structural policymaking last week, the announcement of the new Home Affairs portfolio and the release of the unclassified version of the 2017 Independent Intelligence Review. …
In March, President Trump claimed that Germany owed ‘vast sums of money’ to the US and NATO for failing to meet NATO’s aspirational (but not enforced) defence spending standard of at least 2% of GDP. …
Sea state A Chinese flotilla has arrived off Russia for exercises in the Baltic Sea. The Chinese contingent, which conducted live-fire drills in the Mediterranean last week, includes a Type 052D destroyer, a frigate and …
The future of the ADF is ‘fifth generation’, or at least the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force think so. It might’ve been just a passing fad, given that the term originated as a …
The cybersecurity dimensions of the 2017 intelligence review report have been mostly overlooked, but it contains some interesting recommendations, as well as leaving considerable detail still to be worked out. The proposals don’t fix all …
Too often, current tensions in Northeast Asia are seen through one of two dominant lenses: either the growing strategic competition between China and the US—‘destined for war’?—or the sharper and more immediate concerns posed by …
With the federal government committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence over the next decade, Australia’s naval shipbuilding sector is set to undergo a renaissance that will drive the development of a new wave …
There are lessons for Australia in the soaring death toll across the United States and Canada from the potent opioid fentanyl. Over the past five years, easy availability at relatively low prices has made this …
The roller-coaster nature of Australia’s history with Indonesia—high moments of great optimism, low periods of clash and argument—means that Indonesia’s foreign policy elite is cautious when contemplating the idea of Australia joining ASEAN. But it’s …
Australia’s massive shipbuilding program must become a strongly focused national effort involving government, Defence and industry, says Chief of Navy Tim Barrett. ‘It will only work if it’s a national enterprise, a national endeavour’, …
Welcome back. While those of us in the southern hemisphere are riding out the winter months, elsewhere summer is in full swing, which means holidays and plenty of time for reading. So let’s indulge in …
It has been one year since the failed coup in Turkey, and questions about the country’s future still abound. Last year’s attempted coup was nothing if not dramatic. Mutinous F-16 fighters bombed the Turkish parliament, …
The most important point to make about the government’s proposed Home Affairs portfolio is that these new arrangements can be made to work. They will not harm our counterterrorism performance and could improve Australia’s underwhelming …
If there’s one topic that lends itself to pedantry, it’s military doctrine. Add in a little strategy and cross-cultural thinking and you’ve hit the trifecta required for heated dogmatic commentary. However, in the hope of …
The beat Weapons old and new The increasing frequency of acid attacks in the UK has sparked calls for legislation to impose stronger punishments on perpetrators. Despite some blaming migrants for ‘importing cultures tolerant of …
By early 1918, four Australian Flying Corps units were on active service: No. 1 Squadron in the Middle East, and Nos. 2, 3 and 4 Squadrons on the Western Front. AFC crews in the Middle …
The media commentary that followed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s 18 July Home Affairs portfolio announcement (see here, here and here) almost exclusively concentrated on Australia’s counterterrorism (CT) arrangements. Despite the announcement, Australia’s continued success in …