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 …
Iran is considering an offer from Beijing to revive an agreement which, combined with an enhanced security and military relationship, could give China a new strategic foothold in the Middle East. In early July, Iranian …
Last Friday marked a symbolic breakthrough in Belarus. Thousands of people gathered at Independence Square in Minsk in front of the National Assembly, including many women and workers—the coalition that saved the opposition in its …
The Australian government’s 2020 cybersecurity strategy included a headline figure of $1.67 billion in funding. This is significant, but spread over 10 years it’s certainly not going to solve the problem on its own. As …
For much of the world, the possibility of a new United States administration led by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris offers the promise of a foreign policy reset. America’s European alliances would be strengthened, not …
On 5 August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which allowed the state of Jammu and Kashmir to make its own laws, and cancelled Article 35A, which gave the …
The protests that have roiled Belarus in the week since its stolen presidential election are evolving. Mass demonstrations gave way to more dispersed mobilisations on the model pioneered in Hong Kong. Because such ‘liquid’ protests …
North Korea presents a potential Biden administration with some deeply complicated problems and, quite likely, a crisis to manage soon after the presidential poll in November. No one would be surprised if Kim Jong-un attempted to generate a …
‘Our submarine capability underpins Australia’s credibility and influence as a modern military power. And let me make that statement again: Our submarine capability underpins Australia’s credibility and influence as a modern military power. This is …
Today, on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, questions remain about what stopped the Japanese from invading Australia, and how it was that many of our personnel came home alive and …
In this episode, Michael Shoebridge talks to Marcus Hellyer about the key findings of his Cost of defence 2020–21 report. The report usually comes out as a single volume, but this year it’s being released …
Two of Australia’s leading experts on the Covid-19 pandemic say there’s a very good chance a vaccine will be developed for the disease but there will be huge challenges to overcome until then, and in …
On 6 June 2020, without fanfare, the chief of the French army, General Thierry Burkhard, released his 10-year strategic vision for the Armée de Terre. The lack of pomp surrounding the launch of Burkhard’s vision, …
Observers of US–China relations increasingly talk of a new cold war. On top of a long-running trade war, the two countries now find themselves in a destructive cycle of mutual sanctions, consulate closings and increasingly …
The 2020 defence strategic update released last month provides a sobering analysis of Australia’s strategic environment and the risks we must manage. The document lays out a conflation of pressing issues and concludes that ‘major …
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a landmark speech on 23 July titled ‘Communist China and the free world’s future’ in which he made it plain that China was now America’s main national security …
As India prepares to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of its independence on 15 August, a growing number of Indians are coming to believe that the battle to preserve the essence of the country born in …
Shutting down wet markets trading wildlife for food and traditional medicine is only part of the challenge in stopping future viruses from turning into pandemics like Covid-19. The bigger challenge is ending the demand for …
The endurance reflected in the oft-quoted Taliban taunt to the Americans, ‘You have the watches, but we have the time’, is evidently paying off. The United States and its allies have reached a point of exhaustion …
Belarusian opposition leaders knew beforehand that they would be protesting the falsified result of the presidential election this past weekend, and had already adopted three governing principles. Their demonstrations must be absolutely peaceful, they must …