Former Australian defence minister Christoper Pyne has compared the experience of dealing with US President Donald Trump’s administration to watching the supernatural horror film The Conjuring. In the frankest assessment yet by an Australian cabinet …
Australia’s most senior military officer has warned that the nation faces complex and interwoven threats including high-end military capabilities, economic coercion, climate change and AI-driven dangers to democracy in a post-truth world. In his address …
Kevin Andrews remembers well his concern when, as defence minister, he was briefed on developments that signalled a major turning point in Australia’s relationship with China. When Xi Jinping stood on the White House lawn …
Investigating allegations that Australian soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan is ‘utterly critical’ to the nation regaining moral authority at home and with its allies, says Australian Defence Force chief Angus Campbell. ‘And not just …
Strong diplomacy is crucial to avoid conflict, and the Australian Defence Force must operate within an envelope created and expanded by the nation’s diplomatic efforts, says ADF chief Angus Campbell. Failure of this key element …
Former defence minister David Johnston attended the funerals of 26 of the 41 Australians killed on operations in Afghanistan, and he saw at close hand their families’ grief. ‘Then you understand that the application of …
As the government prepares to introduce legislation into parliament for an Australia-wide ban on Nazi symbols, it’s timely to revisit the extensive coverage of this issue in ASPI’s Counterterrorism yearbook 2022. The yearbook placed the …
Being Australia’s foreign minister and then defence minister over six years gave Stephen Smith an opportunity to see changes coming in the region, and to assess the risks and opportunities they’d bring. Now high commissioner …
Australia’s detailed investigation into allegations that members of its special forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan demonstrated the nation’s commitment to the rule of law, says former defence minister Stephen Smith. In a video interview …
Joel Fitzgibbon recalls being shocked when he became defence minister in 2007 to discover that after years fighting in Afghanistan Australia did not have access to NATO’s planning documents for military operations there. In a …
In mid-April, Foreign Minister Penny Wong addressed the National Press Club on Australia’s interests in a regional balance of power. As she began her presentation, the minister paused to acknowledge one of her guests, Allan …
On 13 April 2022 the Moskva, flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was hit by two Neptune missiles fired from a truck on the Ukrainian coastline. The warship sank the next day. This was a …