Originally published on 4 November 2024. When Hayley Channer and Nicole Seils attended a defence-related event in Canberra in 2014, they realised they were two of only a handful of women in the room. Stranger …
Originally published on 27 September 2024. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs operates a secure digital platform that connects it directly with Chinese companies operating abroad, requiring participating companies to submit regular reports about their activities …
Originally published on 18 June 2024. Because Taiwan lacks formal diplomatic ties with most countries, it works hard at developing cultural and social links with them. But not with Japan. Far more than is widely …
Originally published on 11 May 2024. Kim Beazley was appointed as Minister for Defence on 13 December 1984. He oversaw a revolution in Australian defence, as profoundly important in shaping the nation as were the …
When Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine in February 2022, he surely did not expect that one of Russia’s neighbors would be the main beneficiary of his war. Yet as Russian …
For China watchers, there’s a grim irony contained in the 14 principles that former senior official Peter Varghese recommends in his long-awaited review into national security think tanks, released last week. Fourteen was also the …
Originally published on 22 March 2024. Following the release of the Australia’s Surface Fleet Review, a big problem remains: the Australian Defence Force lacks sufficient maritime firepower to credibly implement deterrence-by-denial in the next 10 …
Originally published on 18 March 2024. Australia really does run on the smell of an oily rag. Our fuel reserves are pitifully low by international standards, and we produce very little fuel domestically. This is …
Originally published on 14 March 2024. Getting caught up in geopolitical competition may seem uncomfortable enough for Pacific island countries. What’s making things worse is that outside powers’ struggle to influence them is weakening their …
Australia is doing well in developing uncrewed naval vessels. Now it needs to redouble efforts to get them into service faster. Application of asymmetric technology is a declared outcome of the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) …
2024 proved to be an unexpectedly dynamic year for Northeast Asia, and we must be ready for an equally unsteady 2025. Changes in political leadership, evolving ententes and uncertain policy trajectories may all contribute to …
Plans for making 155mm artillery shells in Australia are inadequate. They’ll leave us still relying on imports for some parts, and production capacity for those parts that are made locally would not meet Australian Army …
The US Marine Corps is dramatically increasing its relevance to the war fighting capability of the United States. As the world lurches into an age of renewed strategic competition, the Marine Corps understands that it …
Europe’s view of China has evolved rapidly in recent decades. What began as a broad lack of knowledge about the country gave way to curiosity about its history and culture. China’s economic rise further piqued …
Gaps in AUKUS communication strategies limit public understanding of its benefits and allow malign actors, such as China and Russia, to sway public opinion. A roundtable held by ASPI’s Washington office on 3 December served …
Ideas, and the words we use to frame them, matter. For example, as the Cold War wound down, ‘the end of history’ suggested that the disintegration of Soviet communism would leave liberal democracy and market …
Supposedly, something big happened in the defence world on 12 December. Upstart startup Anduril announced a joint venture with Archer Aviation, one of the leading companies in the industry for making electric vertical take-off and …
The collapse of Syria’s Assad regime—with President Bashar al-Assad not even informing his closest associates before fleeing to Moscow—has left regional and international players scrambling to stabilise the country. Of course, there have been numerous …
On Christmas morning in 1974, Cyclone Tracy unleashed catastrophic destruction on Darwin, forever altering the city and Australia’s approach to disaster resilience. As the intensity of climate-driven catastrophes grows, the main lesson of Cyclone Tracy …
The drone message from the war in Ukraine has not been lost on Taiwan. Uncrewed aircraft and vessels, especially small, cheap ones, can be built and used in far greater numbers than even a …