Just over five years ago, Pathway to change: evolving Defence culture, a five-year plan highlighting areas requiring cultural change within Defence, was released. This strategy aimed to address cultural issues that had been recognised as needing …
As the dog that barks regularly but never bites, ASEAN has been yapping at China for 15 years to get a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea. At last, China is throwing ASEAN …
The Royal Australian Navy’s flagship, HMAS Canberra, has completed trials off the NSW coast to help engineers assess whether its mechanical problems have been caused by a serious design flaw or a less serious issue, …
The foreign fighters of the Islamic State terror group, or Daesh, must be eliminated in Iraq and Syria to stop them coming home to carry out attacks in Australia and the region, says Defence Minister …
Let’s kick off with some light relief: those legends over at The Onion have been toiling away on a set of documents which reveal the true functions and dysfunctions of the Trump administration. The trove …
Over the past dozen years, Germany has earned the title of de facto leader of the European Union, shepherding the bloc through the existential threats of the euro crisis, and showing the way in the …
Philippine–China relations have taken a decidedly friendly turn since the South China Sea arbitration concluded with the Annex VII tribunal ruling mostly in favor of the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte has completely upended the country’s …
Australia has only one agreement that automatically commits us to war and it isn’t ANZUS. At the signing of the armistice in Korea in 1953 we agreed, with South Korea’s allies, that we would defend …
The Beat Stingrays deployed by ICE The Detroit News reports that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and FBI agents used a controversial anti-terror tool to track an undocumented immigrant. The device, known as a ‘Stingray,’ …
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s tenure has been marked by high ambition. His vision—the ‘Chinese dream’—is to make China the world’s leading power by 2049, the centenary of communist rule. But Xi may be biting off …
The 2017 ASPI Cost of Defence will be launched tonight. Here’s the executive summary, and here’s a copy of my remarks at the launch event in Canberra. Regular readers of The Strategist will have seen my analysis of …
A year ago, there were real fears that contested claims over tiny specks of coral in the South China Sea could spark a war in Southeast Asia involving China, the 10 ASEAN member states and …
A key metric for the delivery of the 2016 Integrated Investment Plan is the approval of defence procurement projects. However, after years of uninterrupted transparency, the government has stopped disclosing what it approves. While that …
The fallout from the WannaCry ransomware incident continued this week. ShadowBrokers, who released the Eternal Blue exploit used by the WannaCry ransomware, have announced a new program where members will gain access to new vulnerabilities …
The world is about to mark the 50th anniversary of the June 1967 war between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria—a conflict that continues to stand out in a region with a modern history largely …
Hassan Rouhani was decisively re-elected as president of Iran for another four years in last Friday’s elections. According to interim results released on Saturday and announced by Iran’s state TV, Rouhani had obtained an absolute …
Back in March, the Minister for Defence announced the results of a study of JSF-related exports by PwC. She said that the ‘Joint Strike Fighter program will create 2,600 extra defence industry jobs by 2023, …
Sea State At last week’s International Maritime Security Conference in Singapore, Rear Admiral Lai Chung Han, Singapore’s Navy chief, announced a number of initiatives designed to promote regional submarine operational safety, including a US$7.1m upgrade …
The 28 March 2017 landfall of Queensland’s Cyclone Debbie revealed yet again the value of having military assets readily available to rescue and support those needing help. This time it was the Whitsunday Islands, stricken …
On 30 June this year the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) will come to an end. Established in July 2003, RAMSI has been a feature of life in Solomon Islands for more than …