Defence faces years of budget discipline as broader financial pressures bear down on the Abbott government. That’s the implicit message from David Johnston in his most significant speech since he took office as defence minister …
The new government is looking hard at Defence’s equipment costs (about 22% of the budget) and operating costs (about 35%) but can’t ignore personnel costs (about 42%). Reducing the numbers of those in uniform may …
No rest for the weary as Australia is faced with another bout of damaging Snowden revelations. Latest documents suggest that the Defence Signals Directorate (now the Australian Signals Directorate) offered to ‘share bulk, unselected, unminimised …
China’s ADIZ extension certainly got everyone’s attention. Externally, the consensus was overwhelmingly negative and in encouraging other states to balance with the US against China, the ADIZ decision seems an ‘own goal’, at least to …
In last week’s post we presented a potted summary of two of the four main areas of difficulty within the Defence capability development process identified by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). Today we’ll finish …
I’m grateful to Peter Jennings and Karl Claxton for providing a superb example of the Phase Zero planning in their proposal for Bougainville. Their nine-point recommendation incorporates many of the features of a good Phase …
In his latest contribution to The Strategist, Nic Stuart continues to act as something of a catalyst for discussion on this blog. Following an eloquent reply on the benefits of regional amphibious capabilities from Peter …
China’s recent declaration of a new Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea undermines its attempts to portray its rise as ‘peaceful development towards a harmonious world’. Instead it reinforces regional concerns …
In a recent Strategist post, Harry White offers some insightful analysis on China’s recently announced ‘air defence identification zone’ (ADIZ) over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Many commentators simply see ADIZ as a mistake—one likely to …
What are we to do with Big Data? Edward Snowden has kick-started a public debate about the legitimate scope of intelligence in a world of digital interconnectivity, and last week Klee Aiken asked us to …
The recent ANAO report on the Defence capability reform highlights the key role now played by the Defence Capability Plan (DCP). Since its introduction in 2000, the DCP has come to dominate the ADF capability …
A new term has become popular in Chinese political parlance over the last few years. This neologism—‘high-speed railway diplomacy’ (高铁外交)—is used to describe the mechanisms by which China’s burgeoning capacities in high-speed railway (HSR) construction …
In the words of my namesake, Washington has exposed one of The Things We Dare Not Tell. We all know and accept that Australia spies on foreign leaders, but like Fight Club, the first rule …
The United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently released his Department’s new Arctic Strategy during a speech at the Halifax International Security Forum. This document follows the US National Strategy for the Arctic Region …
When you change the government, you change the country, a previous Prime Minister once said. And one of the many things that changes is the way a new government thinks about international relations and the …
Well, what a week. On Saturday, China announced an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea. The area overlaps Japanese and South Korean (and Taiwanese) claims—here’s a good graphic from the NYT. …
In the flurry of criticism over China’s air defence identification zone in the South China Sea, the fact that New Zealand’s Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman has been visiting his Chinese counterpart has been lost in …
China has been strongly criticised for its sudden announcement of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea. This comes just after the withering international criticism it faced for its early response …
Hovering close to the table at the annual Australia–US ministerial were ghosts, spirits and spectres. New Zealand still qualifies as a ghost at this son-of-ANZUS feast, but in recent years the Kiwis have been edging …
For the United States and its allies other than Japan, ownership of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands doesn’t matter. What matters is the contest for influence in Asia which is being played out through the dispute, with …