I’ve spent nearly two decades on the frontlines across the Taiwan Strait, and one thing is painfully clear: foreign interference doesn’t knock; it walks straight in, wearing a suit, quoting international law and demanding compliance. …
A powerful car bombing near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station has ratcheted up existing tensions between Delhi and Islamabad. While a motive for the 10 November attack is yet to be specified, the perpetrator and …
For South Korea and Australia, collaboration in advanced defence technologies offers strategic complementarity that enhances shared capability development. Such partnership could generate synergies to build a stronger regional security architecture and enhance deterrence in the …
The same connectivity that powers our prosperity, and which has driven innovation and growth, has also created shared vulnerabilities and structural fragilities. We are increasingly seeing how a single weak link, often in a third-party …
Australia needs a decisive plan that involves mandating a minimum share of defence contracts for Australian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Too many Australian SMEs face prohibitive barriers when dealing with Defence. Complex tendering rules, …
Last week’s Manila Dialogue demonstrated that the Philippines is far from cowed or isolated in the face of China’s continued bullying in the South China Sea. But it also highlighted the limitations of transparency as …
Almost six years since Covid-19 shocked the world, the risk is that pandemic readiness slips precisely as the conditions for the next outbreak intensify. At the end of 2019, the world was not dealing with …
The Pacific doesn’t have a drug problem. Australia and New Zealand do. And our unrelenting demand for illicit drugs is exporting instability into the region. A recent report in The Australian warned that Pacific Islanders deported …
Wednesday’s announcement of a new security treaty between Australia and Indonesia marks a meaningful shift in regional diplomacy. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to formalise deeper security cooperation revives a familiar …
Geography and a history of proxy politics have made Afghanistan an arena for others’ contests, undermining its stability. Internal fragmentation has compounded the damage. Regional rivalries have repeatedly undermined Afghan-led efforts toward peace. These rivalries …
The Philippines’ transparency initiative is crucial for addressing and countering disinformation and misinformation, as well as exposing China’s unlawful activities in the South China Sea. Even though Indonesia often faces similar threats from China in …
Northern Australia holds enormous potential, but for women in business and leadership, that potential is often constrained. The landscape is defined not just by distance or climate, but by the shape of opportunity: women receive …
The landmark critical minerals agreement between Australia and the United States is vital to both nations’ security and sovereignty. Like AUKUS, it is about competing with China. But to enable it we now need also …
Global decarbonisation goals, the digital revolution and economic growth are driving an unprecedented rise in demand for critical minerals. At the same time, Southeast Asian nations are positioning themselves for varied roles in critical minerals …
Deterrence has long been framed in terms of punishment and denial: states have sought to convince adversaries that aggression would be too costly, either through retaliation or by making success unachievable. These approaches still matter, …
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s first year in office has made clear that his technology agenda is about digital sovereignty and state capacity, beyond shiny infrastructure. While his digital policy sits quietly behind populist social programs …
Germany needs to rethink its balance of hard and soft power if it is to reinforce its global role as the conditions for projecting soft power rapidly deteriorate. Since reunification in 1990, Berlin has cultivated …
Australia needs a dedicated aerospace testing range, and it should be in the Northern Territory. Developing aircraft, missiles and their equipment, and verifying new capabilities added to them, requires real-world testing in large airspaces equipped …
When I stepped into the role of director for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) at the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), I knew the terrain would be complex. The National Action Plan had lapsed in …
Governments across the Indo-Pacific are facing a critical question: who can be trusted to build and manage our most sensitive systems? Vendor choices, for everything from cloud infrastructure to identity platforms, are no longer just …