Media coverage and public discussion of alleged breaches of the laws of war by Australian special forces is heavily focused on individual personalities. Little attention has been paid to longstanding collective, structural and cultural drivers, …
Sea state The Japanese government says it won’t join the US-led coalition in the Strait of Hormuz, though it will send its own forces to the area. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan plans …
US President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw American troops from almost all of Syria, clearing the way for a Turkish offensive against the Kurds, is an unconscionable betrayal of a strategic ally. One would …
In a 1974 article in Aeroplane Monthly, a former Royal Air Force maritime patrol pilot wrote this about his experience flying in World War II: During a period of 1,200 operational hours flown over a …
In previous pieces in this series I discussed the range limitations that are inherent in the design of tactical fighter aircraft. This includes the F-35A currently being acquired by Australia to constitute the core of …
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s successful US visit should not be regarded as a ‘set and forget’ box-ticking exercise. Rather, it should be viewed as a sound basis for the government to pursue Australia’s national interests …
The Chinese folk saying ‘lift a rock only to drop it on one’s own feet’, or its English equivalent, ‘to shoot oneself in the foot’, perfectly describes the self-defeating inclinations of dictatorship. And nothing exemplifies …
The bipartisan tenor of Australia’s foreign policy is being stretched and tested. Scott Morrison’s Coalition government talks tough on international policy. A touch of Donald Trump is trumpeted, as foes are found and lines drawn. …
The world UK and EU negotiators yesterday reached an agreement on a Brexit deal that Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he’s confident will pass the House of Commons over the weekend. Politico has a great …
During last week’s visit to Fiji, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australian peacekeepers would soon be joining Fijian peacekeepers in the Golan Heights as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). The …
There are several reasons why US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces from northern Syria, and leave the region’s Kurds vulnerable to neighbouring Turkey’s military incursion, was a terrible one. The Kurdish forces …
The ramshackle character of public policy is most clearly on show when senior ministers go freelancing. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s leap into the China fray might have felt good to a frustrated former policeman, …
Agree or disagree with Hugh White’s prognosis of Australia’s strategic situation, options and potential responses, at least he has tabled the subject, and shaken more of the general public out of their comfort zone. We’ll …
The beat Police clash with protesters in Catalonia The Catalan independence struggle erupted into violence again this week as riot police clashed with pro-independence protesters and arrested 51 people. Protesters took to the streets in …
Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 film Apocalypse Now is highly regarded as a cinematic masterpiece but is, of course, much more in its impact and continuing resonance. The film is emblematic of the Vietnam War, with …
Australia has committed a surveillance aircraft and a ship to assist in a US-led operation to ensure oil supply through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The Persian Gulf is a critical waterway for the transport …
The United States military hasn’t conducted a single combat operation within the sprawling area of responsibility that defines the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) in 44 years. I’m overly fond of pointing out this little-commented-on fact of …
President Donald Trump has upended American policy in Syria, and possibly in the entire Middle East, in one stroke. His unilateral decision to withdraw American troops from the Kurdish region of northern Syria, and thus …
Few countries have such a fundamental interest in addressing climate change as Australia. Yet Australia’s current conservative government refuses to take necessary actions in response to climate science: to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and therefore play …
Defence’s worst kept secret is now officially public. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds stated at last week’s Sea Power conference in Sydney that the Defence Department is conducting a strategic review. It may not be a …