Last week, a warehouse stocked with nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up, laying waste to the port of Beirut and ripping through much of the rest of the Lebanese capital. At least 200 …
The recent AUSMIN cabinet-level meeting between Australia and the US pointed to the growing importance of ‘collaboration on civilian science, technology, and innovation’ as being critical to ‘develop new industries, drive economic growth, and enhance …
The 2020 defence strategic update represents a remarkable commitment by the Australian government to sustained growth in the defence budget. Released on 1 July after months of bad economic news caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and …
In the wake of the military face-off at Ladakh on the India–China Line of Actual Control (LAC) that led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers on 15 June, there’s been much talk in India …
Sea state The Royal Navy’s survey ship HMS Enterprise has been deployed to Beirut to support Lebanon’s recovery from last week’s explosion that damaged infrastructure and left at least 150 people dead. The UK has …
Brent Scowcroft, who died on 6 August, aged 95, was the model of a modern lieutenant general. A graduate of West Point whose career as a fighter pilot was cut short by a broken back …
‘Grim’ is Duncan Lewis’s terse assessment of the geopolitical outlook and potential for major conflict in the region. But not hopeless, he hastens to add, even though Australia will have to work much harder—diplomatically, economically …
A slump in Australia’s trade with India undercuts the government’s hopes that the country might become a democratic counterweight to our economic dependence on authoritarian China. While the headline coverage of last week’s official trade …
By almost every measure, press freedom in East Asia has suffered a depressing erosion lately. Professional journalists and citizen bloggers have been jailed or slapped with costly defamation suits. Media outlets have had their operating …
On 1 July, Australia unveiled its 2020 defence strategic update, which redefines the country’s strategic priorities and its response to the rapidly evolving regional security landscape. From Cambodia’s point of view, two key components in …
As Australia’s defence minister does her quarterly meetings with the French to push, pummel and pull at the future submarine project, Linda Reynolds is entitled to reflect, ‘How in heavens did we get here?’ Creating …
Australians will be dismayed by the findings of an investigation into allegations that their special forces in Afghanistan committed war crimes, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has warned. Interviewed by journalist Stan Grant as part of …
Since 2017, America’s national security strategy has focused on great-power competition, and today much of Washington is busy portraying our relationship with China as a new cold war. Obviously, great-power competition remains a crucial aspect …
In this episode, Kelsey Munro, senior analyst with ASPI’s cyber centre, speaks to Charles Edel, senior fellow and visiting scholar at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, about US–China tensions and …
The beat Anti-maskers clash with police in Victoria In just one day last week, Victoria Police fined 170 people for breaking the state’s lockdown rules. Among them were 18 people who weren’t wearing masks, some …
In a report released earlier this week, I and my ASPI colleagues Albert Zhang and Jake Wallis investigated a small-scale digital influence operation linked to Chinese-speaking actors. This activity targeted social media users in the …
Does Australia’s cyber security strategy 2020, released by the Home Affairs Department today, go far enough to address the cyber resilience of the nation’s small and medium enterprises? The Australian SME sector comprised more than …
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 …
China has dominated the world’s supply of rare-earth elements for decades. Over the past year, however, there has been a growing recognition among the US and its allies (including Australia, South Korea, Japan and India) …
The Australian Federal Police deserve high praise for shutting down a major cocaine trafficking exercise near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, that was intended to deliver a drug haul valued at around $80 million to …