The government may be planning to get into surplus in 2019–20, a year earlier than it looked like last year, but that doesn’t mean it has also brought forward its commitment to increase the Defence …
President Donald Trump announced this morning (Australian Eastern Standard Time) that the United States is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—and re-imposing the highest level of sanctions on Iran. …
Fiery rhetoric between the White House and Pyongyang dominated news in 2017. The Kim regime caused the world to hold its breath amidst numerous missile launches and one nuclear test, which were condemned in capitals …
When the commander of the US Army in the Pacific met senior Chinese military chiefs, he came away noting that ‘while they still respect us, they no longer fear us’. In a speech to the …
Sea state The US Navy plans reactivated its 2nd Fleet in response to a more assertive Russia. The fleet was disbanded in 2011 for cost saving and structural reasons. US Navy Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, …
As Malaysians go to the polls tomorrow, 9 May, observers are holding their breath. Many unexpected turns have already taken place, few of which provide optimism or confidence in the political scene. The return from retirement …
Pacific island states face a pressing need to understand more about what’s happening in the waters that surround them and to work more closely to deal with threats and crises. Maritime security-related issues represent some …
The White House’s implacable hostility to the Iran nuclear deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—coupled with the administration’s policy lockstep with Israel and Saudi Arabia on Iran, just brings the Middle East to the brink …
For centuries, France and the United States have been friends, allies and competitors. Both have been world powers; both have been models of liberal democracy; and both achieved democratisation through revolution. In fact, France was …
A recent German music industry awards night, expected to be a festive occasion, instead brought to the surface an ugly undercurrent of anti-Semitism. The annual Echo Music Prize recognises musical achievements by German and international …
No one should be surprised that the Home Affairs department—with its ambitious minister, Peter Dutton, and his activist secretary, Mike Pezzullo—is feeling its oats. When Malcolm Turnbull granted Dutton his wish for a mega department, …
The new Oz–China icy age blows through many Australian worlds: security, economics and trade, social, diplomatic and political. The orbits of these worlds converge, shifting political tides and disrupting social weather. Traditionally, dragon slayers worry …
Sydney’s Daily Telegraph left no one in any doubt as to its view of the death of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on 5 March 1953. ‘Stalin Dead – Hooray!’ ran the headline on Frank Packer’s tabloid. This …
The Cambridge Analytica scandal and recent testimony by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg before the US Congress has reacquainted millions of people around the world with the issue of privacy. The scale of the controversy is itself …
Since the 27 April summit between South Korean President Moon Jae‑in and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong‑un, US President Donald Trump has sought, unsurprisingly, to portray himself as the mastermind behind inter-Korean diplomacy. But, despite …
The world Last Friday’s historic Kim–Moon summit happened as quickly as it vanished from the headlines. ASPI provides a short video explainer, while The Diplomat calms high expectations and explains why we’re still a long …
In an earlier post, we argued that with the forging of the Turnbull government’s Home Affairs portfolio, the time was right to question the policy assumptions underpinning Australia’s domestic security strategies. And with that, we …
This is the eighth in our series ‘Australia in Space’ leading up to ASPI’s Building Australia’s Strategy for Space conference in June. Australia depends on satellite data for everything from defence surveillance and weather forecasting to restocking …
A recent article in The New Daily raised the issue of Australia’s role in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. Dr John Blaxland criticised the ‘remarkable amount of ignorance’ about the network. He attributed that ignorance …
The hard part of running the Defence organisation is the trade-offs—lining up capability, strategy and resources to work out what can and can’t be done, says Department of Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty. ‘A challenge I’ve …