The first question to consider when thinking about a major defence program such as AUKUS is this: defence against whom? Australian governments have given two different answers to this question over the years. Prime minister …
The focus for this year’s annual gathering of Pacific leaders and partners was always going to be about China. With the 55th annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) taking place last week in …
Now China is going after the Batanes Islands, a strategically crucial Philippine territory in the Luzon Strait south of Taiwan. An assertion by a group of scholars in June that the Batanes belong to China …
Count on the AI crowd to have a full-blown culture war over the idea of anthropomorphism. True, many AI researchers and commentators are deep in the weeds of its philosophical implications. But confirmed stereotypes aside, …
Maritime surveillance has become Southeast Asia’s critical capability gap. Artificial intelligence combined with orbital surveillance technologies – which we call space AI – offers one way to close it. As China asserts ownership and control …
With slightly over a year to go to before the next national congress of China’s Communist Party, held every five years, China watchers are again busy updating their files on Xi Jinping, China’s enigmatic leader. …
Southeast Asia has quietly become the world’s largest manufacturing hub for financial fraud, and it’s no longer a distant problem for Australians. The scam economy operating out of Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and the Philippines is …
Whenever I write about China’s use of economic coercion, I receive remarkably similar responses. Beijing, I am told, was simply reacting to Australia’s decisions. Australia offended China, so China responded. The lesson is straightforward: if …
Welcome to the latest edition of ASPI’s Fault Lines. Every fortnight, ASPI’s Defence Strategy Program monitors the actions and developments shaping the regional order and Australia’s security. This edition covers the period from 21 August to 3 September …
At the opening ceremony of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Palau on Sunday, China’s Pacific envoy, Qian Bo, spoke with the media and threatened there would be ‘consequences’ from Taiwan’s presence. Qian said …
National Cabinet spent last Wednesday discussing how Australia’s data centres will be powered. The harder question – where they should be built – was left off the table. The meeting was meant to lock in …
It doesn’t all go Beijing’s way. In Latin America, China has been suffering notable reversals of influence. Honduras is a clear example. When it switched recognition from Taiwan to China in 2023, many observers interpreted …
The stalled US–Iran negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and President Donald Trump’s announcement of a US-Saudi nuclear agreement have put nuclear weapons back in the spotlight. But the threat of nuclear breakout has been growing …
During the Optus outage in 2023, Australians joked about not being able to buy a coffee, pay for lunch or order an Uber. Looking back, I think we learnt the wrong lesson. The disruption wasn’t …
Australia and the United States should use the 75th anniversary of the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS) to develop bilateral Defence Guidelines that strengthen the credibility and coherence of Australia’s deterrence architecture. …
Let’s not overlook the Kiwis as we mark 75 years since the signing of the security treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States (ANZUS) in San Francisco on 1 September 1951. After decades …
Belated parliamentary funding for Taiwan’s drone program isn’t likely to satisfy President Lai Ching-te. Nonetheless, pressure from Washington has evidently helped achieve spending authorisation for this key part of the government’s effort to adopt a …
A weekend report in The Australian has raised questions about whether the foreign university affiliations of an interpreter for successive Australian prime ministers are a national security issue. The fact that successive Australian leaders – …
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, taking place on 31 August and 1 September, will be another opportunity for China and Russia to try to promote an alternative to Western-led international institutions. But the organisation, …
Alii from Palau. Leaders are gathering in Koror for the annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). They will be discussing the issues that matter not only to the region but also to its partners, …