Australia should supercharge the development of Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and contribute to their lasting economic security by investing in inter-island electricity grids and diversified energy sources. A green energy project in Vanuatu completed this …
The recent lifting of the terrorism threat level from possible to probable is a reminder how vulnerable Australia remains to a serious terror incident. Yet for the most part, Australians remain unaware of how close …
With the US election just two months away, European decision-makers have gone from grappling with Trumpian nightmare scenarios—new trade wars, abandoning Ukraine and withdrawing from NATO—to experiencing an emotion they had almost forgotten: hope. Vice …
Australia needs to build its own domestic AI capability. To do so, it must first develop and build more of its own data centres across the country. AI is the technology of both today and …
The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) needs modernisation. This time, rather than arming itself via Russia and China again, it should look west. The deposing of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina presents an opportunity for a …
Twenty years ago today, on a Thursday morning, an innocuous white delivery van stuttered towards the gate of the Australian embassy in Jakarta. Seconds later, an explosion shattered windows for blocks around and left 10 …
Beijing’s Pacific envoy threw a tantrum over a mention of Taiwan at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) last week. In doing so, he revealed China’s deeper insecurity over its Pacific presence, especially because of the …
It’s a pity that strategic geography isn’t on the agenda of a leading defence exhibition next week, because Defence and the Australian Army could well use a chance to talk with others about how better …
Several big battery projects in Australia vital for storing renewable energy to meet the nation’s climate goals are highly likely to be using materials sourced through the forced labour of Uyghur and other Turkic ethnic …
The US and Australia have been collaborating on technology for hypersonic weapons since 2007, but you might be forgiven for not knowing that. Until 2014, when China was seen to be testing the DF-17 boost-glide …
As the US presidential election draws near, many are wondering what it will mean for American foreign policy. The answer is wrapped in uncertainty. First, who will win the election? At the beginning of the …
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong hosted their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defence Minister Minoru Kihara, for 2+2 consultations in Victoria on 5 September. ASPI experts give …
The people of Papua New Guinea have derived no measurable benefit from the resource boom, unlike the populations of all other resource-rich nations. A World Bank study shows that while the PNG economy achieved rapid, …
Last year, the United Arab Emirates made global headlines with the release of Falcon, its open-source large language model (LLM). Remarkably, by several key metrics, Falcon managed to outperform or measure up against the LLMs …
The imminent royal commission report into Defence and veteran suicide will probably be quite scathing of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Australian Defence Force. But the report, due to be handed down on …
China has recently made two provocative military incursions into Japanese territory in just a week, with a surveillance plane breaching airspace on 26 August and a survey ship entering territorial waters on 31 August. On …
With great-power rivalries again at the centre of international relations, democratic governments have been relying on secret statecraft to shape or sway regimes in weaker states, including by supporting or aiding regime change. Far from …
Hindering China’s influence in the Pacific islands should become a key goal in the forthcoming update to Australia’s sports diplomacy strategy. As China’s coercive influence tightens around the Pacific islands, Australia finds itself in a …
The Australian Army must ensure all its soldiers understand the danger posed by small, cheap drones and train them to counter that threat. To best support our forces, a centre of excellence that gathers existing …
A fully independent Australian capability to make missiles remains a long way off, even with the US now showing greater support. Australian–US cooperation on missile production was one of the few noteworthy areas of progress …
