‘When small men begin to cast big shadows’, wrote the Chinese intellectual Lin Yutang, ‘it means the sun is about to set.’ It is a dictum that, like many, functions neatly in reverse. When small …
An Australian ministerial visit to Brunei Darussalam normally triggers little strategic interest. But there may be more than meets the eye to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’s meeting this week with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, sandwiched in …
In a major hostage exchange in Mali earlier this month, nearly 200 jihadists held by the Mali government were swapped for a French woman, two Italians and a kidnapped Malian politician. The exchange didn’t include …
With the presidential election only 10 days away, what US nuclear strategy might be under a Joe Biden administration and what that might imply for US extended nuclear deterrence should be key issues of concern …
Right-wing extremists in Australia are ‘hiding in plain sight’, was the assessment Shadow Home Affairs Minister Kristina Keneally gave at a recent ASPI counterterrorism dialogue. Joining Keneally last month to discuss current and emerging threats …
We’ve just lost one of Australia’s and the region’s finest maritime and strategic thinkers and leaders. Sam Bateman died this week aged 82. Sam seemingly had the sea in his soul. He was a true giant …
Established in 2012, the 17+1 initiative was Beijing’s flagship effort to promote China’s economic relations with the nations of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It’s largely perceived as an extension of China’s Belt and Road …
Whether we are heading for a future of cooperation or of increasing confrontation in the Arctic remains to be seen. But it’s already clear that the region will command far more attention than it has …
The big defence news in Australia this year was in the 2020 defence strategic update released on 1 July. The update and its accompanying force structure plan ended speculation about the defence budget and reaffirmed the …
The distant conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh has already provided a sharp lesson on how future battles might be fought. The war has been most visibly characterised by ‘kill …
Sea state Australia has been invited to join the Malabar naval exercise with America, India and Japan. This year will be the first since 2007 that Australia has participated in the drills, having previously withdrawn …
In mid-September, Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan reinstated a partial lockdown in a bid to prevent the Indonesian capital’s hospitals from being overwhelmed. With nearly 12,000 active cases of Covid-19 in the city, ICU beds were …
When is a war crime not a war crime? When it is committed by a British soldier more than five years ago—or at least that will be the case if the UK parliament passes the …
For the first time in almost two decades, the Australian Defence Force has deployed an officer to a United Nations peacekeeping mission in West Africa. The Defence Department hasn’t publicly announced the new operation or …
Washington’s approach to the Indo-Pacific will change over the next four years, regardless of the outcome of the November election. The only questions are how and how much. The first term of President Donald Trump, …
When the Jewish new year began late last month, Israel was enduring its second nationwide lockdown, after daily per capita Covid-19 infection and death rates reached some of the world’s highest levels. How did a …
Jacinda Ardern and the Labour Party secured a landslide victory in Saturday’s New Zealand election. Labour got 49% of the vote and 64 seats in the 120-seat parliament, meaning it can form a government without …
Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto’s visit to the United States (15–19 October) for talks with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on regional security and defence cooperation suggests a great deal about the Trump administration’s agenda …
The Quad, a loose strategic coalition of the Indo-Pacific region’s four leading democracies, is rapidly solidifying this year in response to China’s aggressive foreign policy. Following a recent meeting of their foreign ministers in Tokyo, …
The recent article by fellow Australian Gordon Weiss on the UN and Australia’s place in it brought to mind the extreme dangers often faced by both national and international humanitarian relief workers with the UN, …