Countries across the Middle East are facing a bleak future of declining rainfall, diminishing surface- and groundwater supplies, and increasing desertification. Since 1998, the region has faced the worst drought conditions in 900 years; it …
Sea state Australia and South Korea have held their annual joint naval exercise. Code-named ‘Haedori-Wallaby’, the drills included joint manoeuvres and firing exercises, and involved six ships, six aircraft and a submarine on the Korean …
Huge amounts of time, effort and frustration have gone into negotiating the terms of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. And with the UK set to hold a crucial parliamentary election on 12 …
We’ve known for a while that SEA 1000, the Defence Department’s future submarine program, is going to cost a lot of money—we just haven’t known exactly how much. But as time moves on and Defence …
Those of us older than a certain age will recall an excellent British television series, Yes, Minister, and its successor, Yes, Prime Minister: they were required viewing for young and enthusiastic public servants in Canberra. …
Having read the article last month by Antony Funnell for ‘Future Tense’ and published on ABC News Online, I felt there was a need to respond. The article specifically targets the equipment being used by …
After the collapse of communism in Europe in 1989, many dreamed of building a united and free continent with the European Union at its core. But 30 years later, Europeans have awoken to a new …
Australia gropes and stutters towards a renewed embrace of international broadcasting—the vital need to ‘speak for ourselves’ in the Asia–Pacific. The latest lurch towards fresh understanding is the silent release of the review of Australia’s …
The world The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is likely to take centre stage at the ASEAN+ leaders’ summit underway in Bangkok today, in which leaders from the 10 ASEAN member states and eight other countries, …
As in 1848, 1968, 1989, and 2010–2012, a wave of popular protests has taken the world by surprise. Ongoing mass revolts—in Beirut, Santiago, Hong Kong, Algiers, Baghdad and other cities—are gaining strength and wrongfooting governments. …
Three summers ago, I was walking with my husband along a South Coast beach when we noticed a woman diving into the surf with her two teenage children. From where we stood, it was obvious …
Luke Gosling’s recent Strategist post, mooting Darwin as a forward operating location for Australia’s submarines, sparked a few thoughts. First and foremost, it is refreshing to see Australian MPs sticking their necks out, thinking strategically …
China’s dominance of the rare-earths industry is the result of a 40-year campaign by the Chinese state that has given it a market share of between 80% and 90% of the mining, processing and manufacturing …
The beat Victoria Police introduces ‘hostile vehicle’ policy Victoria Police has provided officers with a set of guidelines outlining their powers and responsibilities in the event of a car attack. The new ‘hostile vehicle’ policy …
‘Being positive where you can’ is number 11 on Australian journalist Greg Sheridan’s generally helpful list of 15 rules for politicians to keep in mind when engaging with China. Remembering that maintaining a ‘a good …
Last week, newly inaugurated Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo introduced one of his new ministers with these words: ‘I believe I don’t have to tell him about his job—he knows more than I do.’ Until …
In ‘Sticking to our guns: A troubled past produces a superb weapon’, the latest volume in ASPI’s series of case studies in defence projects, published today, Chris Masters delivers a cracking read about the ‘funny …
In part 4 of this series, I looked at how deploying from offshore airbases would allow the F-35A to operate relatively far away from Australia in areas that are strategically important to us. However, this …
Joko Widodo has taken a big gamble that he can run a more effective second-term administration by bringing in his strongest opponent. His political strategy, and possibly the success of his administration, will be defined …
On 27 October, President Donald Trump announced that on the previous night US special forces had raided a compound in Barisha, Idlib Province, Syria. In the house was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who detonated a suicide …