ASPI suggests

Welcome to our final ASPI suggests for 2013! How big are the region’s navies? OpenCanada.org has a super useful infographic (above, click to enlarge) that compares the size of China’s, Japan’s, Russia’s, Canada’s and the US …

The Strategist’s greatest (2013) hits

It’s the time of year when lazy editors dig through already published material it’s worth taking a breath and reflecting on what’s passed through our pages over the course of the year. I thought about …

2013 review – the year in cybsecurity

2013 was a significant year in cyberspace, both internationally and closer to home. Whilst the Edward Snowden leaks dominated the headlines, several important agreements and policy achievements were made further away from the glare of …

Reader response: are industry offsets a good idea?

I noted with interest Kym Bergmann’s question in the context of defence industry policy ‘why is “offsets” such a dirty word here’? The answer is actually straightforward: Australia tried offsets—and the results were hardly encouraging. …

Defence projects: the AWDs and the auditors

Yesterday saw the launch of the ANAO’s 2012–13 Major Projects Report, which takes an auditor’s eye view of the biggest and most complex defence projects. This year it analyses 29 projects—more than previous, and making …

Australia and Indonesia: what now?

Australians shouldn’t underestimate the depth of feeling that Indonesians feel about the recent spying matter. It has aggravated some old, deep wounds and surprised many there. This kind of surprise leads to deep cracks that …

Reader comment: the end of the road

I read with interest the contribution of my colleague Patrick Walters regarding the end of domestic car manufacturing and its implications for Australian defence industry. My point is that if we had a healthy defence …

The end of the road

Last week General Motors Holden, spurred by some cavalier observations by federal government ministers, heralded the death-knell for the Australian automotive manufacturing industry. It’s been a long time coming but it’s a safe bet that …