The government’s announcement of an ‘$89 billion shipbuilding program’ today is bold on two fronts. First, in the implicit assumption that much of the price premiums paid on past and current projects and the poor …
Sea State The Philippine Government has voiced its interest in acquiring three more ex-Royal Australian Navy Balikpapan-class heavy landing craft (LCH). Retired in December 2012, the vessels have a military lift capacity of three medium …
The 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) marked the formal end to the 1990s Bougainville conflict, even though a truce, and subsequently a ceasefire, had been in place since late 1997. Among other things, the BPA …
Schools are now on the frontline of countering violent extremism (CVE). Last week, the New South Wales government announced a state-wide audit of all prayer groups conducted in public schools following allegations of radical Islam …
Last week’s release of the first Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Threat Report provides some sobering statistics and interesting case studies on the cyber threats facing Australia. It outlines the problem well, but beyond the …
A few days after kicking Singapore out of the federation in 1965, Malaysia’s leader Tunku Abdul Rahman had a news conference to discuss the traumatic political divorce. The avuncular aristocrat was typically chirpy as he …
Headlining today is Mullah Omar’s death in 2013—what does it mean? Mullah Akhtar Mansour, Omar’s deputy, has now ascended to the top job but Pakistan, host to negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban representatives, confirms talks are …
With RAN’s new amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra continuing a series of intensive training and assessment periods, and its sister ship HMAS Adelaide readying for commission next year, Australia’s amphibious warfare capability is fast becoming …
Among the flood of centenary anniversaries and commemorations, one that slipped past without comment was the destruction of the German cruiser Konigsberg in East Africa on 11 July 1915. Although less well-known than her sister …
As everybody now knows, the Chinese economy has a big impact on Australia. Chinese demand for Australian commodities influences our rate of economic growth, the value of our currency and—critically for the government—our tax revenues. …
The ADF currently lacks the tradition, culture and organisational expertise to maintain and deploy a world class amphibious warfare capability. The current command and control (C2) structures don’t adequately address the high degree of specialisation …
The Beat Stopping the pirates Australians take out the dubious honour of being some of the top illegal downloaders of film and television content. A study commissioned by the Department of Communications reveals the top …
Observing Indonesia over half a century—rather than via the prism of daily newspaper headlines—reveals a poorly understood story of fundamental economic, social and political transformation. It’s one that the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies (BIES), produced by …
The recent SDSC–CSIS report The ANZUS alliance in an ascending Asia (PDF) makes an interesting argument about the US–Australia alliance becoming a ‘central hub’ for American policy in the Pacific. We explained yesterday why we …
This morning the Australian Cyber Security Centre released its first unclassified threat report on the online threat environment that Australia faces, including cyber espionage, cyber attack, and cybercrime. It explains that these threats are delivered …
The ADF has developed a detailed, integrated and truly joint plan to develop and validate an impressive amphibious warfare capability by mid-2017 as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre. However this powerful joint force element will …
While everyone’s anxiously watching and analysing the events unravelling in the South China Sea, there’s another resource conflict involving China that also deserves attention. In the Himalayas, China and India are competing for valuable hydropower …
We read the recent SDSC–CSIS report The ANZUS alliance in an ascending Asia (PDF) with interest. We agree with much of their analysis of alliance strengths and possible points of divergence in the face of …
Sea State The Taiwanese Navy will procure eight to ten MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters in a US$700–800 million deal under the US Foreign Military Sales program, with a letter of acceptance expected in …
In a recent post, I argued that the western strategy against ISIS is failing and described the group as a state-like entity destabilising the greater Middle East, embedded within a loose ‘Internationale’ that presents a …