The Australian and Japanese prime ministers met virtually on 6 January and signed a reciprocal access agreement (RAA) that makes it easier for each nation’s troops to operate in each other’s country. As important, it …
‘History is lived forwards but it is written in retrospect. We know the end before we consider the beginning and we can never wholly recapture what it was to know the beginning only.’ — C.V. …
Will the West remain committed to the rules-based international order when it is no longer the one making the rules? That will be one of the most intriguing questions of the next two decades. If …
There is a saying in Vladimir Putin’s Russia that is profoundly insightful: ‘The less you know, the better you sleep.’ This observation could apply at various times in Russian history, particularly during the period of …
Originally published 16 September 2021. On 5 September, Guinea’s special forces took control of the country, detaining the president, Alpha Conde, and suspending the constitution. Citing endemic corruption, human rights abuses and poverty, coup leader …
At an ASPI conference a few years ago, I remarked that I thought that major surface combatants had been obsolete for many decades, and that the only reason we hadn’t noticed was that there hadn’t …
The outcome of this week’s eight-hour-long US–Russia talks in Geneva wasn’t reported on the main news broadcast of Russia’s state-owned Channel One, a primary propaganda outlet for the Kremlin, until the 11th minute. The first …
Originally published 3 November 2021. September was a dizzying month in Australian foreign policy, especially in the Australian–American relationship. In quick succession were the 70th anniversary of ANZUS, the announcement of the new AUKUS defence …
My 2017 book, A world in disarray, was published five years ago this month. The book’s thesis was that the Cold War’s end did not usher in an era of greater stability, security and peace, …
This week US President Joe Biden faces the first big test of his administration’s global authority. America’s credibility as an ally is on the line, as is Biden’s ability to shape a shared NATO approach …
Originally published 22 September 2021. When Australia announced the AUKUS pact together with the United States and United Kingdom, it knew that China would be hostile and France would be disappointed. Predicting the reaction in Southeast Asia …
During the Cold War, Europe was America’s strategic priority. East Asia was largely a sideshow, even though the United States fought bloody wars in Korea and Vietnam, and also provided security for Japan, South Korea …
Originally published 7 December 2021. A recent test flight of Boeing Australia’s Airpower Teaming System, the second such flight in the ‘Loyal Wingman’ program, which currently has two test aircraft, saw the first aircraft retract its undercarriage …
The nationwide public unrest in oil-rich and mineral-endowed Kazakhstan, triggered by a hike in fuel prices, has its roots in deeper governance problems and societal demands for structural reforms since the country’s declaration of independence …
After 16 years of Angela Merkel’s leadership, a tight race on election night and almost two months of coalition negotiations in Germany, the Social Democratic Party, or SPD, returned to power with Olaf Scholz the …
Sound the trumpets and start the drum roll, please. Unlucky for some, as the bingo call goes, it’s time for the 13th Madeleine Award for a symbol, stunt, prop, gesture or jest. The annual award …
After a year in which people longed to get back to ‘normal’, it’s now clear that Covid-19 will not make this possible. The pandemic, now in its third year, has profoundly affected individuals, communities, countries …
Originally published 28 April 2021. There’s a greater likelihood of major conflict in the Indo-Pacific region now than at any time since the end of the Vietnam War. That’s why the Australian government’s 2020 defence strategic …
Proving that history does irony, banks that once feared masked robbers now fear mask-free customers. But does history also do mockery? The 1984 Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed away on Boxing Day in …
Originally published 3 May 2021. China’s steel industry is blaming the concentrated ownership of Australia’s iron ore mines for the soaring ore price and is calling for Chinese government intervention. ‘We believe that the supply …