Australia has demonstrated the capacity and capability to undertake fast, scalable responses to disasters and humanitarian crises in recent years. Australian governments, agencies, non-government organisations and the public have proven determined and flexible in both …
That only a handful of people in Canberra knew that the AUKUS pact was being negotiated is a minor concern for those living on China’s borders. Any discussion about how AUKUS is perceived in the …
Planet A A new report on the impact of climate change in Africa predicts 118 million of Africa’s most impoverished people will be subject to climate-change-induced displacement, disasters and extreme weather conditions by 2030. Africa’s …
In the first post in this series, I considered the structure of the safety regimes needed to independently audit the Royal Australian Navy’s procedures and training to operate a nuclear-powered submarine (SSN), along with the …
A pair of reports in the Financial Times have set the defence community abuzz with the suggestion that China has tested a new hypersonic glide vehicle, possibly with a fractional orbital bombardment system, or FOBS. Two …
In my last post, I explained the need for dual lines of responsibility for nuclear safety, with civilian authorities answerable to a minister other than the minister for defence to provide a degree of independence …
A policy options paper from the National Security College at the Australian National University, titled ‘Improving national security governance’, proposes reforms to hold Australia’s security and intelligence agencies more accountable as we move into an …
The combined effects of Covid-19 and climate change have revealed profound vulnerabilities in Southeast Asia. In ASEAN member states, the pandemic turned hospitals into mortuaries at the same time as natural disasters transformed coastal communities …
As the Australia–Japan security relationship continues to strengthen, there’s concern among the South Korean security community that that may come at the expense of their country’s own interests. Security cooperation between South Korea and Australia …
A problem in recent public commentary on tensions between China and Taiwan has been a conflation of what we know and what we fear. Nowhere is this more evident than on the topic of incursions …
The agreement for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) is the most significant part of the recent AUKUS announcement. The offer of assistance from the United Kingdom and the United States to acquire this …
These are demanding times. Geopolitical tensions are rising, primarily—but not exclusively—between China and the United States. Yet, at the same time, there is a deep need for inclusive global cooperation to fight the pandemic and …
ASPI celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. This series looks at ASPI’s work since its creation in August 2001. For a think tank devoted to strategy, the need to combat climate change leads naturally to …
In a move that could usher in a new era of interventionist diplomacy—or, alternatively, represent a grudging aberration driven by realpolitik—ASEAN provided the first significant regional rebuke to Myanmar’s generals since their February coup by …
Stability in Australia’s near neighbour across the Coral Sea, and the influence of France in the region, are at risk with a call by pro-independence parties not to participate in New Caledonia’s final independence referendum …
Nation-building can drive economic prosperity, social cohesion and resilience, but we need to engage with the complexity of our modern world to develop pragmatic solutions that address several issues. The temptation to rate one priority …
As the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted critical problems in Papua New Guinea’s vaccination programs and threatened the country’s health security and economic prospects, how, and why, must Australia help? Australia provides development aid to PNG …
‘When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.’ — Edmund Burke, ‘Thoughts on the cause of present discontents’, 1770 The only …
The 10th of October marked the anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution, the 1911 military insurrection in the city of Wuhan against the Qing imperial government. Coming after years of activism for reform and revolution, the …
India–China border tensions have become one of the Indo-Pacific’s defining territorial disputes. The ongoing Ladakh crisis ended more than three decades of confidence-building measures and border agreements in June 2020 with the deaths of Indian …
