It’s true that Australia is underinvesting in diplomacy given the type of world we are living in. But it’s wrongheaded to blame MPs and ministers for not simply understanding the intrinsic value of the Department …
Japan’s parliament is scheduled to confirm Yoshihide Suga this week as the country’s new prime minister. He will replace Shinzo Abe, who announced his resignation last month for health reasons, after almost eight years in …
Sea state Two Australian frigates sailed to the waters off Guam to take part in Exercise Pacific Vanguard. HMA Ships Arunta and Stuart joined eight naval vessels from Japan, South Korea and the US and …
Sea state The 2020 iteration of the biennial Exercise Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, has just concluded. Ten nations (Australia, Brunei, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and the US) …
Sea state A Chinese nuclear-powered submarine has been spotted outside an underwater bunker near China’s Yulin naval base. The base, on the southern end of China’s Hainan Island, is one of Beijing’s most important facilities …
To be part of an official interaction with the Republic of Korea is to receive frequent expressions of thanks for Australia’s role in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. As an impoverished nation faced …
Sea state South Korea has revealed plans for an aircraft carrier capable of carrying F-35B fighter jets. While much smaller than a typical US aircraft carrier, the ship will be large enough for the short …
On 6 August—75 years ago today—the first nuclear weapon used in anger was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. One more was used against Nagasaki on 9 August, and since then, no nuclear weapons …
The confluence of forces built around shared unease and growing anxiety over the implications of China’s rapid military expansion, salami-slicing territorial creep and ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy is fertile ground for the revival of the quadrilateral …
When discussing their nation’s defence relationship with France, many Australians express perplexed curiosity. The prevailing view appears to focus on points of difference rather than confluence. In reality, the Australia–France defence partnership has been growing …
Scott Morrison’s speech at the launch of the defence strategic update and new force structure plan was fascinating. No fewer than four times he said that the deterioration in Indo-Pacific security was as concerning as the slide …
Sea state The UK National Audit Office has revealed that the Royal Navy may not be able to form carrier groups with its two new aircraft carriers. After spending nearly $8 billion on the two …