In this week’s update, we review the aerial response to Cyclone Pam, drones in Syria and Europe, the potential for space war, Afghanistan’s close air support capability, and miniature air launched decoy jammers. The destruction …
A useful history of Australia’s actions, apprehensions and aspirations in Southeast Asia over the last 75 years could be written using Lee Kuan Yew as actor and commentator. As a young translator, working for the …
In the 1990s, an American scholar wrote a famous paper called ‘Anarchy is what states make of it’. The central argument was that little in international politics is pre-ordained and how we think about issues …
At the launch of the Australian Cyber Security Centre in November 2014, Prime Minister Abbott underlined the importance of cybercrime in the Government’s thinking, estimating that cybercrime costs Australia around $1.2 billion per year. That …
With ASPI’s Future Surface Fleet conference now less than a week away, Sea State this week will continue last week’s examination of design options for the future frigate fleet. We’ll also take a look at …
Australian politics has grafted presidential habits onto a system of cabinet government. And recently, the Oz body politic has rejected the graft. The mismatch between presidential aspiration and parliamentary power introduces stutters and stuff-ups into …
Welcome back for another dose of defence and strategy links, this week coming to you from the ISCS–RIS conference on India and the Indian Ocean in Bhubaneswar, India’s ‘City of Temples’. Kicking off with the …
This post is a contribution to a series leading to ASPI’s Future Surface Fleet Conference from 30 March to 1 April 2015. Registration closes 23 March. A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower: Forward, Engaged, Ready, the long-awaited …
Outside certain policy and banking circles, most people haven’t heard about the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB). Well, that’s about to change. Not to be confused with the Asia Development Bank (ADB), or the …
This post is a contribution to a series leading to ASPI’s Future Surface Fleet Conference from 30 March to 1 April 2015. Registration closes 23 March. Recently, the US Sea Services (Navy, Marines, Coast Guard) released their …
This week’s CT Scan features the Tunis attack, Australian CT laws, passport cancellations, radicalised teens, the Islamic State hostage experience, families, prison and how to study CT. On Wednesday, at least 20 people were killed …
Frustrated by European reluctance to arm Ukraine, two prominent former US officials—Hans Binnendijk, formerly senior director for defence policy at the US National Security Council, and John Herbst, US ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to …
This week on The Beat: drug use and gambling, Colombian organised crime, Taliban funding from organised crime, Facebook cracking down on extremists, the PJCIS declaration of the al-Raqqa province, US Homeland Security recommendations, Australia’s Muslim …
Recent reports talk about China’s possible establishment of a ‘fourth’ naval fleet with jurisdiction over the Indian Ocean region (IOR), joining the existing North Sea Fleet, East Sea Fleet, and South Sea Fleet. This mysterious …
As we come to grips with the aftermath of Cyclone Pam, Australia’s closely coordinating its initial response efforts with a range of capable responders: Britain, France, NZ and the United States. But in the days …
The third wave of the Internet is upon us, or so suggested AOL co-founder Steve Case at this year’s SXSW Interactive in Austin this week. According to Case, companies will need to foster partnerships with …
With an estimated 260,000 illegal (unregistered) guns already in Australia, the horse is already on its way out the stable door. Still, every illegal firearm counts: the significance of the threat is such that government …
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran continue to endure their mental torture, awaiting a final decision on their execution. It’s a slim hope but Indonesia’s political and judicial systems are opaque and bendable enough that their …
In this installment of Rapid Fire, we take a look at the ground campaign in Iraq, concerns over Shia militias, use of chemical weapons by Islamic State, foreign fighters in Nigeria, Putin’s reasoning for annexing …
Cyclone Pam—Category 5—has hammered Vanuatu. An estimated 260,000 people were in the disaster zone when the cyclone struck on Friday and continued over the islands on Saturday. The cyclone is one of the biggest to …