The thought bubble of a travel bubble for Australia and New Zealand is transforming from bubble into action. The official title is ‘a trans-Tasman Covid-safe travel zone’ but it’s gotta be the ‘travel bubble’. Bubbles …
In late October, the Australian Defence Force carried out a trial to assess its ability to help should a natural disaster strike a state or territory. Thirty men and women, reservists from the three services, …
In this episode, marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, Lisa Sharland, head of ASPI’s international program, speaks to the force commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, Major General Cheryl Pearce, about …
As the world remains focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party has set about boiling two frogs. Beijing has turned up the heat on Hong Kong. It’s also stepping up its attempts to …
This article is part of ASPI’s 2020 series on women, peace and security. It’s complicated. Over the past several years, many countries have worked hard to get more women involved in their militaries, and the …
One of Covid-19’s paradoxes has been the way in which some wealthy, high-capacity countries (particularly the United States and the United Kingdom) failed to contain the virus, while some poorer countries and regions with less …
Thailand’s opposition parties are using the government’s pandemic response as an opportunity to further contest Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s legitimacy. While social discontent with the government will continue to grow, the immediate threat to Thailand’s …
While there’s still some debate about whether the world is entering a new era of ‘Pax Sinica’ in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, it does appear that we’re witnessing the emergence of a more …
The beat Expanded powers for protective services in Victoria may continue Victoria Police and the state government want to continue to use protective services officers (PSOs) in their expanded role introduced for the Covid-19 emergency. …
For years Australian universities have exposed themselves to excessive dependence on revenue from international students, particularly from the People’s Republic of China. Unconstrained growth in this sector is changing everything from the design of Australia’s …
I read with interest the recent Strategist posts by John Coyne and Graeme Dunk in which they apparently took different stands on the importance of northern Australia for our defence. With better definition of how …
At the end of April, two upgraded Chinese Type-094 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) reportedly went into service. But China’s SSBN capability is a far less important component of its nuclear deterrent than its land-based …
The rules of global trade went out the window between February and April as nations fought like cats to secure supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE). It was each for themselves and the devil take …
A paradigm shift is taking place in relations between the European Union and China. The Covid-19 crisis has triggered a new debate within Europe about the need for greater supply-chain ‘diversification’, and thus for a …
National security agencies can be surprisingly risk-averse organisations and have been historically slow to adopt new technologies outside times of crisis. Within these agencies, chief information and technology officers may be less effective champions of …
There’s a big international weapons program that probably doesn’t pass the post-coronavirus pub test for supply chain security. As US President Donald Trump’s recently said, ‘It’s a certain fighter jet, I won’t tell you which, …
Sea state The Royal Australian Navy has unveiled the last of its three Hobart-class guided missile destroyers, HMAS Sydney. The other two ships in the series are HMAS Hobart and HMAS Brisbane, and all three …
China’s decision to crack down on Hong Kong with a new security law has shocked the world. But to those who read the resolution issued last November by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist …
While there is a diversity of views on Victoria’s Belt and Road Initiative agreement with Beijing, there seems to be universal agreement on a solution: the federal government should simply assert its constitutional prerogative and …
Washington’s announcement on 21 May that it is unilaterally withdrawing from the Treaty of Open Skies has been rightly condemned as an irresponsible national security misstep. Although there is substance to the US’s claims that …