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  • 8 Nov 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Indonesia
    • United Kingdom

    Indonesia-Australia: Deeper divide lies beneath AUKUS submarine rift

    Benjamin Herscovitch , Gatra Priyandita
    Indonesia is committed to “standing in the middle” between the United States and China and using ASEAN as a buffer.
  • 28 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australia
    • United Kingdom

    Britain and Australia aren’t actually treaty allies – they should be

    Ben Judah
    Only a formal deal will lock in the gains under AUKUS against future uncertainty.
  • 27 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • European Union

    AUKUS? Quad? FOIP? A fragmented approach cannot counter China

    Yatharth Kachiar , Priya Vijaykumar Poojary
    Only a coherent policy for the Indo-Pacific will work. The West needs to offer a strong economic balance to Beijing.
  • 22 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Europe
    • European Union

    “Strategic autonomy” is more dangerous for Europe than AUKUS

    Benjamin Tallis
    Breaking from the United States would militarise the European Union to the extent that it would become unrecognisable.
  • 14 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • China
    • Taiwan
    • International law

    Would a war over Taiwan be legal?

    Ben Saul
    International law defines statehood and provides the rules of war, but ambiguities abound in the case of Taiwan.
  • 14 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • United Kingdom

    AUKUS: Why Beijing didn’t go ballistic

    Jia Deng
    China’s reaction was in words not deeds. Another high-profile case may have influenced its attitude.
  • 11 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Europe
    • Australia
    • France

    Subs: Australia’s reputation overboard

    Richard Ogier
    In Europe, and not only in France, the image of Australia has suffered a direct hit.
  • 6 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • China
    • Taiwan

    Chinese warplanes overhead Taiwan (or maybe not)

    Peter Layton
    Multi-aircraft flights – some at night – signal a growing sophistication. But there are still limits.
  • 5 Oct 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • United Kingdom

    In defence of AUKUS

    Oriana Skylar Mastro , Zack Cooper
    This is not only about nuclear-powered submarines; it is about a strengthened US commitment to Australia.
  • 29 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australian Navy

    SSN vs SSK

    Hugh White
    Time on station or a numbers game? The answer depends on the mission for Australia’s submarine fleet.
  • 20 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Australia
    • Technology
    • International law

    The law when putting autonomous military platforms on a shopping list

    Eve Massingham
    The fear of rogue killer robots looms large but legal questions go well beyond the pointy end.
  • 17 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australia
    • France

    Sunk! France cries outrage over snubbed subs

    John Sexton
    The French president is stung, the local media in uproar, and allies are caught in the storm.
  • 16 Sep 2021
    • Asia
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australian Navy
    • Australia
    • United Kingdom

    How nuclear subs could transform Australia, its alliance and Asia

    Sam Roggeveen
    First thoughts on the consequences of a truly momentous decision.
  • 13 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australia
    • South Korea

    Small hints of a bigger opportunity in Australia-South Korea ties

    Peter Dean
    Defence industry engagement can be the bridge to span different strategic visions of challenges to the region.
  • 7 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Climate change

    Matching strategic and defence policy to the climate challenge

    Brendan Sargeant
    Australia is looking too much at symptoms rather than the causes – and missing the need to work cooperatively.
  • 3 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Trade
    • Australian Navy

    Australia’s essential need: not seaborne trade but seaborne supply

    James Goldrick
    “Sea control” is not about dominating waters but only to the extent necessary to ensure the movement needed.
  • 2 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Europe
    • South China Sea
    • European Union
    • Germany
    • United Kingdom
    • France

    Europe and the South China Sea 

    Loro Horta
    More warships in disputed waters may cause instability. But the presence of navies from afar sends a clear message, too.
  • 1 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia

    Alliance management – a history in pictures

    Daniel Flitton
    In a game of diplomatic spot-the-difference, a sense of continuity is evident at recent AUSMIN meetings.
  • 1 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia

    Will ANZUS make it to 80?

    Sam Roggeveen
    A war in Asia would be a true test of the “unbreakable” bonds said to define the US-Australia relationship.
  • 27 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Maritime Security
    • China's Military
    • Australian Navy

    Australia’s seaborne trade: Essential but undefendable

    Hugh White
    Recognising the limits to Australia’s military potential.
  • 25 Aug 2021
    • Asia
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • China

    Afghanistan holds lessons for American power in Asia

    Sam Roggeveen
    The US will one day ask the same question about its presence in Asia that it did of Afghanistan: is it still worth it?
  • 24 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Philippines

    Duterte’s back-down on US forces in Philippines

    Andrea Chloe Wong
    After several threats to scrap the agreement giving US troops a legal basis in the country, challenges are lingering.
  • 23 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    The world must evacuate women police in Afghanistan

    Melissa Jardine
    The international community trained local women to put their lives on the line but has now abandoned them to danger.
  • 16 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Afghanistan: the right time to leave

    Rodger Shanahan
    There was no “low cost” solution for the United States other than endless conflict.
  • 4 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Climate change
    • Environment

    Preparing Australia to respond to disasters – at home and abroad

    Peter Layton
    The military should be restructured with a dedicated element to better tackle relief operations full-time.
  • 2 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Vietnam
    • Russia

    Russia and Vietnam: An alliance of convenience

    Nikola Mikovic
    Moscow’s interests in Hanoi’s arms and oil make for a tricky strategic juggling act with Beijing.
  • 30 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • China
    • North Korea
    • Russia

    Why China and North Korea decided to renew a 60-year-old treaty

    Khang Vu
    Mutual interests abound in a win-win for the alliance of single-party states.
  • 29 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Africa

    Africa and Europe rally to contain Islamic insurgency in Mozambique

    David Brewster
    But it won’t be the end of the story.
  • 22 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Asean
    • Australia
    • China
    • Southeast Asia

    US-China rivalries: What matters for ASEAN

    Nurliana Kamaruddin
    Southeast Asian nations have learned to be wary of big powers offering promises of security in return for loyalty.
  • 19 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Russia

    Russia’s National Security Strategy: Same book, new cover

    Ian Hill
    The subtext of the country’s new security strategy reveals a regime beset by suspicion and insecurity.
  • 14 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • China

    China’s law on conscription under revision

    Dennis J. Blasko
    An emphasis on second enlistments suggests not enough young people are volunteering to meet recruitment quotas.
  • 12 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Abandoning Afghanistan won’t bring peace

    Nishank Motwani
    The pledge of a “a responsible end” to America’s involvement in Afghanistan’s war will likely have the opposite effect.
  • 6 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia

    Australia right to back Biden on democracy

    Ben Scott
    Foreign policy trade-offs are an uncomfortable truth on the road to rules-based freedom.
  • 21 Jun 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia and the Pacific

    The risks of escalating strategic competition in the Pacific Islands

    Joanne Wallis
    Becoming tangled in power politics can create divisions between – as well as within – nations across the region.
  • 18 Jun 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia

    Maladies, remedies and optimising security

    Victor Abramowicz
    A closer defence relationship with the US must be balanced by nuanced diplomacy to most benefit Australia’s security.
  • 16 Jun 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia

    An alliance of democracies is essential

    Michael J Green
    The only question is ­– what kind?
  • 11 Jun 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia

    Australia should steer the US off a values-based Indo-Pacific strategy

    Ashley Townshend , Susannah Patton
    Rallying the world’s democracies to check China’s power can only unite a narrow coalition in the region.
  • 18 May 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Solomon Islands

    Long-ago battle in Solomon Islands keeps claiming lives

    Gina Kekea
    Locals should not be forced to live in fear of the hidden menace still posed by explosive wartime remnants.
  • 19 Apr 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Technology

    No surprise: Spying from space is a good thing

    Bryan R. Early , Erik Gartzke
    With countries all watching each other, there is less chance anyone is caught off guard – a deterrent to aggression.
  • 14 Apr 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Asean

    The Quad’s uneasy place in Southeast Asia

    Ivy Kwek
    The region will need assurance to overcome scepticism about the Quad and assuage a deep-seated fear of upsetting China.
  • 12 Apr 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan

    The Quad (finally) delivers: Can it be sustained?

    Susan Thornton
    The future of the grouping might well be determined by China’s behaviour.
  • 19 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Terrorism
    • Africa

    The Mozambique Channel is the next security hotspot

    David Brewster
    An Islamist insurgency is spilling danger into a major shipping lane, and countries must decide who they want to fix it.
  • 17 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • India's Navy
    • India

    Aggressive sea control isn’t an option for India’s navy

    Abhijit Singh
    Be assertive close to home. But India should not shrink from distant waters, either.
  • 16 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • India
    • Japan
    • Southeast Asia
    • Coronavirus

    The Quad gives a boost to India’s vaccine diplomacy

    Teesta Prakash
    Countering China’s influence is one thing. But fostering regional cooperation plays to the strengths of the grouping.
  • 15 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Diplomacy
    • United States
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Asean
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan

    A new “concert” to govern the Indo-Pacific

    Pang Zhongying
    For Quad leaders emphasising an “inclusive” region, there may be a ready-made example for involving China.
  • 15 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Russia

    Russia wants to be a power to be reckoned with in the Indian Ocean

    Alexey Muraviev
    No public strategy is defined, but a list of Moscow’s military and paramilitary activity in the region is revealing.
  • 10 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • India's Navy
    • Australian Navy
    • Australia
    • India

    Sea denial is not enough: An Australian and Indian perspective

    James Goldrick , Sudarshan Y. Shrikhande
    Debates over naval policy need to be mounted with a full understanding of just what a nation needs to do at sea.
  • 2 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • India
    • Africa

    Agalega: A glimpse of India’s remote island military base

    Samuel Bashfield
    Satellite imagery reveals the transformation of an Indian Ocean island into a strategic outpost. Many questions remain.
  • 1 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Australia
    • International law

    How far would Australia go in defence of the rules-based order?

    Sam Roggeveen
    The way the defence force is structured and the weapons deployed sends a message beyond the words.
  • 26 Feb 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • India
    • Russia

    India must be realistic about Russia relations

    Anita Inder Singh
    New Delhi can talk up ties all it likes, but Moscow’s eyes are also looking east – to Beijing.
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