Last week, Greg Austin wrote in The Strategist that ‘those in Australia advocating for a ban on Huawei in the 5G network—mimicking the opinion of US intelligence chiefs expressed in February 2018—have not reviewed all …
The head of the Chinese lunar exploration program, Ye Peijian, has remarked that: the universe is an ocean, the moon is the Diaoyu Islands, Mars is Huangyan Island. If we don’t go there now even …
The beat LAPD seeks transparency in releasing arrest footage The Los Angeles Police Department has voluntarily released body-camera video showing the arrest of a suspect who later died in custody. Still haunted by footage of …
Most Australians are aware that the nation’s publicly funded research agencies are held in high esteem by the rest of the world. Fewer people, however, know the extent of global involvement by agencies like CSIRO, …
In the 38 years since the end of colonial rule, Zimbabwe has never held an election in which Robert Mugabe has failed to participate—or win. The country gets its first chance in combined presidential and …
The free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) isn’t just a new name; it signals an important shift in framing a geostrategic understanding of the consequences of China’s rise. Apart from the ongoing process of clarifying the …
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie’s recent ‘extraordinary’ statement in the Federation Chamber of Parliament under parliamentary privilege prompted a flurry of media reports. Hastie’s speech was remarkable not only because of its content but also because …
Telegram is an encrypted internet messaging app developed in Russia to avoid censorship by the Putin regime. It’s so effective that it’s proving problematic for law enforcement and counterterrorism agencies around the world, including in …
Defying common sense as well as business and financial elites, US President Donald Trump seems to relish the prospect of a trade war. On 6 July, his latest trade restrictions—25% tariffs on about US$34 billion …
The revival of the so-called Quad or, more formally, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, has hogged regional newspaper headlines in the past year—at a time when China’s rise and concurrent assertiveness have sparked much concern across …
Is Donald Trump’s deal with Kim Jong-un towards ‘denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’ falling off the tracks already? US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Pyongyang over the weekend certainly suggests that’s the likely …
In 1918 prominent American philosopher James H. Tufts asked, ‘Is there, can there be, any ethics of international relations?’ In the turbulent century since, that question has inspired many attempts at an answer. Contemporary events …
Sea state The Israeli and French navies teamed up to conduct the first joint drills between the two countries in 55 years. INS Eilat Sa’ar and INS Kidon Sa’ar docked in the port of Toulon …
As US envoys Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt toured the Middle East last month, apparently on the verge of announcing President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, many commentators warned the US to postpone unveiling …
Last week, Australian Signals Directorate Director-General Mike Burgess gave an on-the-record speech to ASPI’s artificial intelligence and national security masterclass. Following his speech, he took some tough questions from the media and the audience. Public …
The US–Australia alliance focuses too much on its past and too little on its future. That may seem sacrilegious, particularly amid the ongoing celebrations of 100 years of mateship. We should certainly honour the service …
New Zealand’s new coalition government has just launched its strategic defence policy statement. The statement carries on many of the themes familiar from past defence policy papers while introducing a number of new priorities. In …
For years, political leaders such as former US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta have warned of the danger of a ‘cyber Pearl Harbor’. We have known for some time that potential adversaries have installed malicious …
Launching Australia’s international radio service in December 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies declared: ‘The time has come to speak for ourselves.’ World War II woke Australia to the need for its own, distinctive international voice. …
The overwhelming speed of technological development means armed forces must change their approach to everything from who they recruit and train to how targets are attacked and how a nation defends itself. The warning was …