ASPI suggests

Today’s a public holiday in Canberra so we’re taking a short break from regular blogging, but here’s our weekly round-up of news, reports and events in the defence, NatSec and strategy world. First up, Dewi …

The audacity of Jokowi

It’s March 2013, and looking ahead to September 2014—when Indonesia’s new president should be elected—it’s too early to speculate on the result. In fact, we’re not even sure who’ll line up for the race. But …

Learning to teach the ADF

Critical to the success of any defence force—including the civilian agencies which support it—is the training and development that each person, individually and collectively, undergoes. Today the typical ADF member will pass through a number …

Indonesia’s complex ascent

I recently had the pleasure of attending the National Security College’s workshop ‘Indonesia’s Ascent: power, leadership and Asia’s security order’ at the ANU. The presentations were delivered as part of a larger publication project that will explore and …

ASPI suggests

Welcome back for our weekly round-up of news, reports and events in the defence, NatSec and strategy world. It’s one minute past midnight, as the sequester—USD$1.2 trillion of cuts across the US federal budget over …

Kiwi and kangaroo (part IV): future imperfect

This is part IV of a series on Australia–New Zealand relations (part I here, part II here, part III here). The Australian Army can find positive things to say about its Kiwi counterpart, usually in a sardonic tone. My …

Marines in Darwin – make it so

We’re in Washington this week for the Alliance 21 project being run by the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. It’s an interesting time to be in Washington. Over the next 24 hours the US budget negotiations will come …

Antarctic nationalism

Australia has a range of interests in Antarctica. Preserving our sovereignty over our Antarctic territory remains a fundamental interest. Since 1936, Australia has claimed 42% of Antarctica. Our claim, including extensive offshore areas, gives us …

How we can prevent Japan–China war

The Australian debate on the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute is interesting for what it reveals, and what it omits. So far, very few are talking about Australia’s diplomatic strategy—and that’s a big problem. While the best strategy will probably involve elements of military balancing, it’s worth examining Australia’s potential diplomatic role in the peaceful de-escalation of Japan–China tensions. Australian foreign …

ASPI suggests

Here’s our weekly round-up of links and events in the NatSec, defence and strategy world. For those interested in AirSea Battle, Richard A. Bitzinger and Michael Raska have a new RSIS Policy Brief on the …

The South Pacific ‘arc of opportunity’

I’ve previously written on The Strategist that it’s time for Australian policymakers and academics to see the South Pacific as an ‘arc of opportunity’, rather than an ‘arc of instability’ (PDF). That proposal was tested …