President Obama’s ‘rebalance’ to Asia was officially pronounced dead in March this year. Susan Thorton, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, stated: ‘I think you can probably expect that this …
As a country’s power grows, it naturally seeks a greater global status and expands its influence overseas. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is China’s means towards that end. Some analysts have even compared the …
Welcome to The Strategist Six, a feature which provides a glimpse into the thinking of prominent academics, government officials, military officers, reporters and interesting individuals from around the world. 1. What do you believe are China’s …
By interesting coincidence, Fear of Abandonment, an important book on the history of Australian foreign policy, appears 50 years after a book with which it has some interesting parallels. In 1967, Alan Watt published The Evolution …
President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has caused much discussion about China’s vision for engaging the world economically. In many ways, it can bring ‘win–win’ opportunities for China’s economic partners, but there’s also …
For the ADF to be a war winning force it must be fully integrated and accepting of cultural and gender differences, says Defence’s Vice Chief, Ray Griggs. Vice Admiral Griggs tells The Strategist the transformation …
A five-nation defence pact for which the peak ministerial council has met only 10 times in 46 years is a happy institution. Threats can’t be pressing and the military machinery must be running smoothly. …
An Asia that doubted the strength and commitment of the US pivot now confronts a new White House songbook. The tune is ‘America First’. The words are, ‘Let’s make a deal!’ And Asia can’t yet …
‘In this brave new world we cannot rely on great powers to safeguard our interests.’ Malcolm Turnbull, Singapore, June 2, 2017. Australia’s Prime Minister has given a big Asia speech that attacked China directly while …
The horror of the Manchester bombing runs along multiple planes. It wasn’t just that the attack, like that on popular al-Faqma ice-cream parlor in Baghdad’s Karada district one week later, callously targeted children. Two days …
The ‘America First’ pendulum has been in full swing this week, as the President returned from his time abroad to stamp on the progress made by the Paris climate agreement and ask the Supreme Court …
Welcome to The Strategist Six, a feature which provides a glimpse into the thinking of prominent academics, government officials, military officers, reporters and interesting individuals from around the world. 1. How concerned is Poland about the …
Paraphrased, the US Third Offset strategy runs something like ‘bolstering US conventional deterrence through technological and operational innovation’. The strategy hinges on innovation, and sees the integration of autonomy into weapon systems and organisational constructs …
Recent media reports suggest senior US officials have told Julie Bishop that if North Korea’s nuclear weapon program can’t be reversed, South Korea and Japan will likely pursue their own indigenous nuclear arsenals. In fact, …
The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore this weekend gives the Trump administration a major opportunity to set out, in detail, its Asia–Pacific strategy. If it fails to do that, the perception—particularly in Southeast Asia—that …
US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia offered a rare glimpse into his emerging foreign-policy agenda. It is now all but certain that the Trump administration will abstain from lecturing foreign leaders about their …
The Beat All that glitters… … is not gold, and not all that is gold is legally mined. African Matters profiles the latest developments in Ghana’s fight to curb galamsey, the practice of illegal artisanal …
In April, the government released their first annual update on implementation of the 2016 Cyber Security Strategy. We provided our assessment of that report on The Strategist shortly afterwards, and yesterday we released our own …
John McCain’s speech in Sydney this week offered an emotionally-appealing restatement of the orthodox, establishment view of Australia’s alliance with America. In doing so the veteran Republican senator showed quite plainly why that view is …
As long-term readers will know, we keep a watching brief on American aircraft development and production programs that are relevant to Australia. The two most significant ones are the RAAF’s current and future first line …