Democracies in danger

By abruptly revoking the special, constitutionally protected status of Jammu and Kashmir, India has become the latest major democracy to act against a minority community for short-term political popularity. Kashmir will henceforth be ruled more …

If the mandate of heaven is withdrawn

The strategic risks for Australia are large in a post-CCP China. China’s domestic regime operates in ways that are repugnant to Western conceptions of democratic and human rights, and the Chinese Communist Party employs power …

China must not repeat Tiananmen in Hong Kong

The crisis in Hong Kong appears to be careening towards a devastating climax. With China’s government now using rhetoric reminiscent of that which preceded the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters—and, …

Why ASEAN’s Indo-Pacific outlook matters

After more than a year of deliberation, ASEAN adopted the ‘ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific’ on 23 June. The outlook then got an airing at the ASEAN Regional Forum meetings in Bangkok. The document ‘provides …

The US alliance and defending Australia

The biggest threat to Australia’s alliance with the United States has always been posed by the US—and what it demands or fails to deliver. Wars have strengthened, not weakened, the alliance. In the Pacific war …

ASPI suggests

The world India’s surprise decision to revoke Article 370 from its constitution this week ended the special status enjoyed by the now erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. For a detailed explainer contextualising the recent …

Life after the INF Treaty

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty expired on 2 August, after a period of over 30 years as one of the landmarks of nuclear arms control. Opinions vary over how much that matters. But there’s one …

India’s bad bet in Kashmir

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has decided to strip Kashmir of its special status—which granted considerable autonomy to the disputed Muslim-majority territory—and split it into two union territories (a status below that of states) …

National security wrap

The beat German police use AI to combat child pornography Authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia—Germany’s most populous state—are working with Microsoft to identify and combat online child pornography using artificial intelligence. The partnership aims to combine …