Technological resilience is emerging as a key aspect of Indonesia’s foreign policy. For Australia, this shift presents opportunities for deeper cooperation with one of its closest neighbours. Canberra can strengthen Jakarta’s resistance against hybrid threats …
While Taiwan’s drone manufacturing program looks ambitious, it is nowhere near ambitious enough, as combat experience in Ukraine is making clear. With the US-identified window when China will be capable of invading Taiwan just a …
Serious middle powers enforce boundaries. They do not absorb pressure indefinitely. They do not treat hostility as misunderstanding. They do not mistake accommodation for statecraft. Australia does the opposite. In early 2025, a Chinese navy …
South Korea is digitally sophisticated, technically capable and deeply invested in modern digital government systems. In September 2025, when a fire tore through a government-linked data centre in Daejeon, what followed was a clear failure …
The United States’ 6 January decision to withdraw from many international organisations risks allowing Beijing and Moscow to further advance their undermining of global stability. To prevent that, Indo-Pacific partners, such as Australia, Japan, Singapore …
As with 2025, early 2026 sees AUKUS Pillar One, Australia’s plan to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine capability, back in the headlines. This time the focus is claims by a former Royal Navy admiral and former …
The US intervention in Venezuela and its withdrawal from dozens of multilateral bodies are reminders that President Donald Trump will exercise power as he sees fit, with scant regard for international law or norms. Even …
The Royal Australian Navy’s greatest challenge isn’t introducing nuclear submarines and considerably expanding the surface fleet, as daunting as those objectives are. Rather, it is transitioning from a peacetime force to one with a maritime …
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Beijing this week—the first trip by a Canadian prime minister in more than eight years—signals a high-stakes attempt to reset Canada-China relations. This visit comes as pro-democracy publisher Jimmy …
Southeast Asian states need their coast guards to cooperate if they are to withstand and counter Chinese aggression, especially as US uninterest in the South China Sea may embolden China to increase its coercion of …
A Chinese attempt at blockading or invading Taiwan in 2026 is unlikely. Instead, Beijing is likely to persist with its toolkit of coercive actions to erode Taiwan’s will and narrow its strategic options. President Xi …
China would not be the superpower it seems, renowned historian Frank Dikotter argues in his book, China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower. The seemingly almighty Chinese Communist Party was virtually destroyed by chairman …
Indonesia’s military force development needs to prioritise capabilities required to enforce neutrality in a Taiwan contingency. Without persistent surveillance and the ability to remain on task over extended periods, the country’s long-standing policy of neutrality …
As Iranians take to the streets, the Islamic regime could be facing its greatest challenge since 1979. This selection of Strategist articles analyses the emerging calls for regime change, provides an insight into Iran’s complex …
Australia can deepen engagement with Africa without significantly expanding its current level of aid or diplomatic footprint by working through the Quad, the security partnership that comprises Japan, India, the United States and Australia. Each …
There have been a great many books written about the 6 June 1944 invasion of Normandy by allied forces. Sir Max Hastings made a fine contribution to the literature on the subject in 1984 with …
Australia’s next National Defence Strategy (NDS) risks overlooking a crucial vulnerability that’s hiding in plain sight: our people, and particularly women. The 2024 strategy identified improving workforce growth and retention as one of six immediate …
Iran’s long-standing era of strategic patience appears to be ending. A newly articulated doctrine of preemption—dangerously vague and publicly declared—suggests a regime that sees growing risk in restraint and is now prepared to play a …
The United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raises issues for us and other US allies. To start, we need to get a few things straight, including the point that the operation was a …
As 2025 recedes in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to look at the combat-aircraft stories that are likely to make news in 2026. Anyone waiting for the Xian H-20 shoe to drop over the holiday …
