In some recent good news, the Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) noted that the number of recorded sea piracy attacks worldwide was down by a third in the first quarter …
Myanmar and Thailand have much in common and this is on display now more than ever. Apart from being similar in geographic and population size, they’re the two most prominent Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asian countries. …
As a Strategist post earlier this week reported, former CIA head Michael Hayden has accused Chinese Telecommunications company Huawei of snooping for the Chinese Government. Huawei isn’t new to controversy, after being blocked from working …
A decade ago today, lead elements of the nearly 2,000 troops, police, and officials from the nine Pacific Islands Forum countries initially comprising the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) arrived to begin their …
Andrew Davies’s recent post about long project timelines highlights issues that everyone accepts but rarely factors into the planning and management of the future force structure; modern projects take an unconscionably long time to actually …
Late last week US Vice President Joe Biden spoke at George Washington University In Washington DC about why and how the US was pursuing ‘its announced policy of elevated engagement in the Asia Pacific’. If …
Australia’s referendum tick for the monarchy and constant opinion poll support for the US alliance suggest the voters are happy with both the traditional and treaty elements of the Anglosphere. The temperature of popular sentiment …
Last Friday saw the publication of the full transcript of an interview conducted with the former Director of the CIA, Michael Hayden. The interview gave us insight into US intelligence and strategic thinking which don’t …
Australian strategic analysts don’t spend much time thinking about ‘soft power’—Harvard academic Joe Nye’s pithy label for the range of cultural, educational, and other forms of influence that states can use, through attraction rather than …
In recent years the ‘obscure mineral’ coltan—geological name Columbite Tantalite—has become widely known and politicised for being closely connected with the violence of armed groups in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Similar to …
Like many of our readers, I’ve been following the recent discussion of the nature of the Anglosphere with interest. It’s been a lively exchange—and a sometimes wry one—and it sheds some light on aspects of our …
Japan has released Defence Of Japan 2013, its annual defence white paper—ASPI’s Ben Schreer had a piece on it earlier in the week. The document shows increasing tension in Tokyo over security in North East Asia. The …
The Prime Minister’s quick visit to Papua New Guinea this week focused on the asylum-seeker issue, but also has some wider security implications. Although Mr Rudd enjoys good personal relations with Sir Michael Somare, PM …
Graeme Dobell’s posts on the non-tabling of the Defence White Paper and National Security Strategy (here, here and here) and the attitude of the Executive to Parliament raise some interesting issues about the separation of …
In a recent article in the Security Challenges Journal, I set out the case for analysing Defence White Papers in their political contexts. These statements are as much about the contest of politics as they …
The recent exchanges between Peter Jennings, Hugh White and Nic Stuart over the existence and value of the ‘Anglosphere’ have been both entertaining and timely. I’ve found things to agree with in all their contributions …
After more than a decade of involvement in the Middle East, Australia’s in the process of pivoting back to our own region and looking for new strategies for Defence re-engagement. In the past, the Defence …
Tony Abbott has sworn off talking about the Anglosphere because the responses are too Pavlovian. Too late. The Liberal Leader is destined to wear the Anglosphere label with the same mixed results that John Howard …
It’s been a year since The Strategist kicked off as ASPI’s official blog—and what a year it’s been! We’d like to say a big thanks to all our readers and social media followers for helping …
In his recent ASPI lunchtime address, David Gould—DMO’s General Manager Submarines—observed that the Collins submarine project ‘delivered a class of six submarines of unique design in a shade under 20 years’. He added that the …