The Beat Yakuza and mafia shake-ups Japanese police are bracing themselves for potential violence following reports of a split in one of the yakuza, or organised criminal syndicates that operate in Japan. Plans to move …
The recent Strategic Insights paper Security through aid by Anthony Bergin and Sarah Hately on the use of aid and development assistance to enhance security gives attention to important but currently neglected opportunities to counter …
It took 24 hours—and apparently an angry call from a blindsided President Joko Widodo—for Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo to revoke a raft of new restrictions on visiting foreign journalists, which were similar to those …
In the First World War, Indian and Australian servicemen fought together on the beaches of Gallipoli, in the deserts of Mesopotamia and the Middle East, and in the fields of France. In the Second World …
In April 2015, the Commonwealth Government established a National Ice Task Force to develop a National Ice Action Strategy. With the establishment of the National Ice Task Force one could be forgiven for thinking that …
The US Third Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTA) authority to charge corporations over insufficient levels of cybersecurity. Wyndham Worldwide, the parent company of several hotel chains is being taken …
Diplomacy is a demanding responsibility of governance because the expectations of it are high and diverse. Its tired stereotyping contrasts with the reality of its challenges. A nation’s diplomacy needs to inform its government about …
Hugh White’s column for The Strategist on naval surface ship-building in Australia continued his campaign against such a national effort, but was actually centred on his long standing objection to the maintenance of a capable …
Sea State The US’ incoming chief of naval operations (CNO) Admiral John Richardson has been invited by his Chinese counterpart, Commander in Chief of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy—Admiral Wu Shengli—to visit China to discuss …
In Australia and in my home country of Canada, we’re seeing various responses to radicalisation. Putting security and police officials at the front of the reintegration and de-radicalisation efforts is important, but they won’t be …
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) is set to report tomorrow on the tricky matter of whether the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill 2015 is necessary and appropriate. As the …
Both Kevin Andrews, the Defence Minister, and David Feeney, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence, were kind enough to respond to my criticisms of the Government’s naval shipbuilding program in a recent column, and especially its …
Imagine you’ve joined the military, and are being issued your uniform and gear. The surly man behind the counter shoves a pile of stuff at you, including two pairs of boots, and tells you to …
The slow and stuttering course of the Australia–India relationship over the last 70 years has been troubled by the Curse of the Cs. The Cs are about what the two Indian Ocean states seem to …
All eyes have been on Beijing this week as signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy have been felt across the globe. With Chinese President Xi Jinping set to visit Washington DC next month, …
Two recent articles on Defence acquisition one here by my colleague Mark Thomson and another in the AFR here by John Kerin quoting Warren King caused me to reflect on the long journey Defence has …
A fortnight ago, a group purporting to be the Islamic State Hacking Division released the names, email addresses, passwords and telephone numbers of almost 1,500 individuals, the majority of whom are reportedly US Defence personnel. …
There is, in my judgement, one very good reason for expanding our present military operations into Syria, which is sufficient to justify it, and three very bad ones which should not be relied upon at …
In an opinion piece in The Australian today I argue that while COAG’s recent counterterrorism strategy (PDF) usefully outlines the importance of engaging the Australian public (and a range of other sectors such as business) …
The Beat Ticket to fraud Fraudsters have taken advantage of a new target connected to our daily transactions—the troubled public transport ticket system Myki. Public Transport Victoria have refunded $4.2 million to international credit card …