Balancing the protection of sensitive information against openness is a perennial challenge for governments and their national security agencies. Too little disclosure can destroy public trust in institutions. Too much can undercut important capabilities that …
Sea state Last Wednesday, a Chinese naval warship collided with a Taiwanese freighter in the Taiwan Strait at around 8 pm local time. Both vessels suffered hull damage. The cargo ship made it safely to …
Major dam construction projects have become a favorite pastime of some autocratic governments, with China leading the way. But, far from protecting against water shortages, as supporters promise, large dams are contributing to river depletion …
Economic warfare is being fought with an intensity not seen since the period leading up to World War II as countries deploy tariffs, embargoes and economic sanctions to force policy changes or punish their adversaries. …
On 3 August at around 11 am, a 21-year-old man named Patrick Crosius posted a PDF to an online forum. Ninety minutes later, he walked into a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and opened fire. …
As geostrategic circumstances darken, there’s new interest in military mobilisation. For Australia, that involves moving the Australian Defence Force beyond its normal peacetime rate of effort. It can be an all-of-nation mobilisation for the ‘big’ …
It has long been feared that Cambodia’s growing dependence on China—its largest aid donor, investor and creditor—would lead to a Chinese military presence in the country. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, those …
Australia’s pivot to the South Pacific talks up both personal connections and foreign policy interests. The pivot pitch tries to meld strategy and Pacific family, bringing together policy and the needs of Pacific people. Such …
The world North Korea has tested two more missiles as diplomatic relations with the US remain stalled. And yet, Vox argues President Donald Trump is unlikely to care that his ‘friend’, Kim Jong-un, is quite …
Hugh White’s latest book has stimulated an important debate on the defence capabilities needed to preserve Australia as a sovereign state. In the recent posts on this subject on The Strategist, there’s been recognition of …
Much is made of values in the rhetoric of Australia’s foreign and defence policies and in particular the consonance between Australian and American values as underpinning the ANZUS alliance. Presumably these values include racial equality; …
The backlash abroad against Xi Jinping’s China, at least in developed nations, has spread rapidly in the last year. Some smaller countries, like Australia and Canada, feel patronised and bullied. Neighbours worry they are being …
In the 18 months the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was busily working away on its 623-page opus on digital platforms, Chinese-owned app upstart TikTok grew a global audience of over 700 million. With no …
The only time I had ever seen La Moneda (‘the Mint’)—the presidential palace in Santiago, Chile—was in a newsreel showing the Hawker Hunter aircraft of the Chilean Air Force bombing that magnificent edifice during the …
The old defence dictum that talking dollars is a necessary condition for talking policy is applied in spades in Hugh White’s most recent book. After a discussion in the early chapters of our strategic challenges …
As a former Royal Navy submarine commander, I read with interest Hugh White’s suggestion that Australia may, in the decades to come, need to confront the issue of whether it should have its own nuclear …
Since the renewal of hostilities between the Turkish government and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces in mid-2015, following a two-year ceasefire, the conflict has claimed around 4,500 lives, adding to approximately 40,000 casualties since the …
The Palestinian Authority boycotted the US-led international conference held in Bahrain in mid-June on the economic aspects of the US Middle East peace plan. PA President Mahmoud Abbas made the decision to reject the US …
There is a growing debate, domestically and internationally, about the nature of future conflict. Recently Australian Defence Force chief Angus Campbell drew attention to political warfare as a key element of a changing threat paradigm. …
There’s been a lot of talk lately about lots of submarines and fighter jets playing a role in Australia’s security. But in all the excitement of contemplating future battles between fleets of submarines and fortuitously …
