The Falepili Union has shifted up the paradigm of Australia’s strategic policy in the Pacific by several gears. It represents a grand bargain, albeit in microcosm, that aims to address security needs from both Pacific …
In a report on the UK government’s Indo-Pacific policy, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee calls for the United Kingdom to propose to Australia and the United States that Japan, along with South Korea, …
On 17 November, SpaceX made a second attempt to launch its fully reusable launch vehicle, Starship Superheavy, from the company’s Boca Chica launch site in Texas. The first launch (video here, with launch at 44:48), …
The Australian government’s proposed amendments to the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 have provoked strong reactions. Debate on this issue has been simmering for some time, mostly remaining under the mainstream radar. The short window …
In recent weeks, US President Joe Biden has boldly referred to the United States as the world’s ‘indispensable nation’. But when the term was first coined—by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in the 1990s—the world was a …
The results of the recent elections in Poland and Slovakia underscore the two countries’ diverging political trajectories. In Poland, the democratic opposition won enough parliamentary seats to oust the increasingly authoritarian Law and Justice (PiS) …
In recent years, publishers have released a deluge of new books on relations between China and the United States, some predicting conflict and others offering formulas for maintaining peace. Surprisingly, however, there have been few …
Is there any possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, or must we simply get used to periodic wars that deny both sides the tranquillity and stability they seek? It’s easy to be pessimistic. …
At the US Institute of Peace’s Interorganizational Global Forum on security cooperation in the Pacific islands in September, the US emphasised a ‘whole-of-government effort’ in engaging with the region that involves cabinet-secretary-level meetings, an intelligence …
For three years, China’s zero-Covid policy consistently received high-profile media coverage from the Chinese and the international press. During the first phase of the pandemic, China’s mass mobilisation of resources and strict regionwide lockdowns were …
Manila’s recently published national security policy recognises that there are multifaceted threats to the country. Some of these threats are more urgent than others, and the fiscal environment in the Philippines makes the task of …
Summits are by definition occasions of high politics and drama, so it comes as little surprise that the 15 November meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping generated immense global interest. …
Successive attempts to reform the Australian Defence establishment over the past century have done little to improve processes, says former defence minister Linda Reynolds. ‘They’re a bit like herds of elephants sweeping across Defence and …
Australia hasn’t been truly sovereign in its own right since 1788. The head of state remains a foreign monarch. Generations of Australians have been lulled into forgetting this reality by the cultural familiarity of the …
Planet A Australia has created a new mobility pathway for Tuvaluans facing the existential threat of climate change through the Falepili Union treaty announced on the sidelines of last week’s Pacific Islands Forum meeting in …
On 29 and 30 August, Perth played host to the annual Chief of Army Symposium. This year’s edition focused on the innovation and partnerships—with industry, entrepreneurs, end users and investors—necessary to continue to enable an …
The APEC summit in San Francisco this week offers poignant echoes and painful contrasts with the first summit in Seattle 30 years ago. Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation is always ‘four adjectives in search of a noun’, …
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit last week to the People’s Republic of China was a reminder that beyond the metrics of trade and the mechanics of statecraft, the Australia–China relationship carries deep meaning in Australia’s …
So far, the 2020s have been marked by tectonic shifts in both technology and international security. Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022, which brought the post–Cold War era to a sudden and violent end, …
The Falepili Union, a security treaty between Australia and Tuvalu announced at the conclusion of last week’s Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting, is a huge leap forward for tackling climate change—the existential security threat for …