In this episode, The Strategist’s Brendan Nicholson speaks to Charles Parton of the Royal United Services Institute for an overview of how the Chinese Communist Party operates, what China wants from Australia and the UK, and the need for like-minded democracies to coordinate to prevent the use of coercive and hostage diplomacy.

Australia’s Attack-class submarine program has been highly scrutinised lately, with media outlets even reporting a review could lead to the government walking away from its partnership with France’s Naval Group. Michael Shoebridge and Marcus Hellyer weigh in on the $89 billion program and give their thoughts on what it means for the future of Australia’s maritime security and defence capabilities.

Bart Hogeveen speaks to Huong Le Thu about Australia’s announcement in November of a $500 million investment to assist Southeast Asia’s recovery from Covid-19. They discuss opportunities for the government to increase its engagement in the region through investment in digital initiatives, something Dr Huong Le Thu wrote about ^[1] in the latest issue of Australian Foreign Affairs.