Tuesday [23 January] marked 20 years since the passing away, in exile, of an unpretentious archivist—and one of the most remarkable and consequential figures in international espionage—Vasili Mitrokhin. A KGB officer for more than three …
As Australia Day approaches, there will be passionate debates about the suitability of the day and the historical context for First Australians in particular. But within those debates we should all agree to unite around …
The December AUKUS Defence Ministers meeting in San Francisco has reinforced the importance of advanced undersea warfare capabilities as a key element of the agreement’s Pillar 2. A particular focus was the role of autonomous …
When the cabinet archives on Australia’s decision to go to war against Iraq appeared on 1 January, the cupboard was astonishingly bare. No formal submission went to cabinet on Australia joining the invasion of Iraq …
In November, the Strategic Fleet Taskforce released a report which found that Australia needs a strategic fleet and maritime workforce. noting that only 15 vessels over 2000 deadweight tonnes are now Australian flagged. The taskforce, …
Diplomacy used to be the prerogative of national governments, handled by a small group of leaders, officials, diplomats, and militaries. The acceleration of globalisation and interdependence since the 1970s led to the emergence of …
Last December, the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) appointed Dong Jun, former commander of the People’s Liberation Army navy (PLAN), as China’s new defence minister more than two months after his …
Last week’s Chinese embassy press conference was a further effort to corral Australia into compliance and compromise with Beijing’s views. Remarks by Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian and other embassy officials confirm what many national security …
Last year I wrote the maritime opinion piece on the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) for the WA Defence Review 2022–23 annual issue. In it I opined that there were some promising signs, but I also …
Armed forces usually adapt slowly in peacetime, resisting change. Well, only the most hidebound will be ignoring the revolution in military affairs under way in Ukraine and the Red Sea. For want of a better …
Western leaders are well aware of the dangers of a Russian victory in Ukraine. ‘When dictators and autocrats are allowed to run roughshod in Europe,’ US President Joe Biden recently observed, ‘the risk rises that …
Millions or even billions of separate interactions, decisions, and transactions occur daily across our nation. If we could ever get above all that dynamism, we’d no doubt marvel at the sheer complexity of modern Australia. …
When policymakers discuss the AUKUS partnership, they like to focus on the flashy bits: nuclear submarines, hypersonic missiles, artificial intelligence. Politicians of all stripes can rarely resist the temptation. But beneath the surface are a …
As Australia awarded itself an ill-thought-out peace dividend at the end of the Cold War, the impact fell hardest on the Navy’s surface combatant fleet. Arguably no element was thought through more thoroughly for the …
China’s recent decision to expand the pilot planting of genetically modified soybeans has the potential to reshape the global soybean trade. Soybeans, crucial in animal feed, human food and industrial products, are immensely important in …
ASPI has identified multiple attempts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to manipulate Taiwanese voters by spreading disinformation and propaganda across social media. These influence operations primarily sought to undermine Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential …
Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have had almost no impact on the oil price, despite the volume of oil shipped through the waterway surging 80% over the last two years because of the …
Recent Russian efforts to interfere in US elections, track down and eliminate defectors and other ‘disloyal elements’, and plant disinformation using social media are nothing new. Rather, they are the continuation by modern means …
Women journalists in the Pacific are mobilising to work together against gender discrimination in male dominated workplaces. They have described being threatened with violence, sexually harassed, intimidated, shut out of leadership roles, excluded from …
On 9 January, the US Army released a new space vision focused on integrated multidomain operations. The brief document provides valuable perspective on how the US Army views its role in joint and combined space …