There’s a moment to realise that you’re being played for a sucker. That moment has come for the Australian government in the case of the current Solomons Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare. Since the new …
Articles by: "Michael Shoebridge"
Allan Hawke stayed the Queanbeyan boy he was born, while also becoming one of the most respected, connected and insightful public servants of our time. For a man of such achievement and prominence, it’s probably …
The Labor government’s defence strategic review will explore how the Australian military is positioned and enabled to operate in our region as the security environment requires. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the review on 3 …
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has a friendlier way of presenting the Chinese Communist Party propaganda department’s talking points than many of Beijing’s wolf warriors, but it’s the same content, just in nicer wrapping. At his …
Like his strategic partner Vladimir Putin in his horrific war in Ukraine, Xi Jinping’s violently aggressive actions in the past few days against Taiwan—and Japan—have revealed how he wants to act in the world. These …
America has killed al-Qaeda’s head, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was living in a wealthy Kabul suburb under the noses of the Taliban leadership. Al-Zawahiri living and working in Afghanistan is an echo of the safe harbour …
Beijing is moving at high speed to co-opt South Pacific states economically and then use that leverage to achieve broader goals, including the ability to project military power across the Indo-Pacific. China is also working …
Being one of 121 Australians whose names have been put on a list by Vladimir Putin’s government that stops us from travelling to Russia doesn’t really affect my life. So, in a narrow, personal way, …
Echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s description of his war in Ukraine, China’s Xi Jinping has released a directive that licenses his armed forces to conduct ‘special military operations’. This involves the People’s Liberation Army using …
The annual Shangri-La Dialogue is a key moment to hear how major powers see the world and each other. This one is more key than ‘normal’—because the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that the dialogue was …
The 26 May incident where a Chinese fighter aircraft fired flares and chaff at an Australian maritime patrol aircraft in international airspace above the South China Sea, risking a potentially fatal crash, is not an …
Skilled diplomacy, a powerful and achievable deterrent capability developed with urgency, and the highly trained personnel to drive a technically skilled defence force will be crucial to Australia’s defence in the uncertain decades ahead. A …