In the confusing aftermath of Catalonia’s messy independence referendum, the Catalan regional government’s president, Carles Puigdemont, has wanted to have his cake and eat it. His long-awaited speech to the regional parliament, in which he …
The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade is running an inquiry into the desirability of a long-term defence agreement. The idea is that the core components of defence policy (such as the …
US President Donald Trump has announced what was long anticipated: that he will not certify that Iran is complying with the July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed by the United States, China, …
On 6 October, al-Naba, Islamic State’s Arabic language policy-oriented magazine, released the first official statement endorsing the participation of female combatants in defensive jihad (jihad al-daf). Although there have been a handful of references discussing …
Crackdowns, like protests, gain momentum fast. But the things that set them in motion often have a slow, heavy build-up. In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s new move to hang onto power gained force quickly, …
Three things Australia didn’t want to do in the South Pacific came to culmination this year. Two of them were things Australia hadn’t wanted to do, but then changed its mind on. Having made the …
On 29 September, the ADF announced that eight Iraqi civilians, including two children, were believed to have been killed or seriously injured during its operations against the Islamic State terror group in the Iraqi city …
The world All eyes are on China in anticipation of the lustrum Communist Party of China (CPC) Congress. As the 19th Congress approaches, speculation is rife about Xi’s big plans: Will he name his successor? …
If Australian politicians are certain about one thing regarding the future, it’s that ‘we do not have to choose’ between the US and China. This panglossian optimism is easily mocked, though a small industry of …
The 5 October special meeting of the Council of Australian Governments focused on security and counterterrorism. Premiers and chief ministers agreed to establish the National Facial Biometric Matching Capability and signed the Intergovernmental Agreement on …
Australia is poised to be elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) when the General Assembly meets on 16 October. Until recently, Australia, Spain and France were locked in a tight contest for …
This is the year of significant anniversaries marking the Australia–US relationship. In May we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the battle of the Coral Sea and more recently the 50th birthday of the joint facilities, …
The beat Thwarting child abuse Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang revealed that Queensland Police secretly took over a major child abuse site called Childs Play and administered it for almost a year. The Argos Taskforce monitored …
China has long regarded fresh water as a strategic weapon—one that the country’s leaders have no compunction about wielding to advance their foreign-policy goals. After years of using its chokehold on almost every major transnational …
My previous post on the future submarines talked about having a Plan B in case the project runs into insurmountable problems. In his response, Jon Stanford seconded the need for an insurance policy. So on …
On 13 October, Seoul will host the third Australia – Republic of Korea foreign and defence ministerial (2+2) consultations. While topics to be discussed include cybersecurity, border security and maritime safety, North Korea will dominate the …
With the announcement of the new iPhone X—at a price only a princess royal could afford—I recalled a metaphor that some peers and I tried to employ to describe the importance of integration to future …
For most James Bond devotees, M is the reassuring, somewhat fatherly figure in Ian Fleming’s novels who reluctantly deploys his favourite agent in dangerous, if not deadly, places. Bernard Lee played M wonderfully in the …
For Russia, the great prize is a Europe where it’s accepted on equal terms with other European nations and can share in Europe’s economic and technological progress. A ‘common European home’ was a core element …
This year’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has stirred mixed reactions. The Norwegian Nobel Committee states that the organisation received the prize ‘for its work …