The United States courts India

It can’t be mere coincidence that US secretary of state Rex Tillerson’s first major foreign policy speech on 18 October was about America’s relations with India. The address, delivered on the eve of his visit …

Pump up the pump jet?

A press briefing on the Australian future submarine (FSM) program by Jean-Michel Billig, the Australian program director for Naval Group (formerly DCNS), at the PACIFIC 2017 international maritime expo a few weeks ago set some …

The DPRK dilemmas

Now that the DPRK has developed long-range missiles and what appears to be a hydrogen bomb, what next? Does Kim Jung-un plan to incinerate a US city in the near future? Until now, nuclear powers …

Trident and the nuclear future

The nuclear world is bifurcating. Along one fork sit those favouring the nuclear ban treaty—affronted by the ongoing role that nuclear deterrence plays in key global and regional security arrangements, appalled by the prospective humanitarian …

An agenda for US–Iran negotiations

US President Donald Trump has decided not to certify that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement constraining Iran’s nuclear-weapons program. In effect, Trump has …

Can France and Germany come together?

Seven months ago, when Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front had a chance of winning the French presidency, Germany feared for France’s future. But after Germany’s federal election in September, France has not …

Australia and the Rohingya: we should be leading

In August, Myanmar’s military launched ‘clearing operations’ against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. According to the government, this was a response to a coordinated attack by the group against 30 police posts and an army …

‘Capability’ saves lives

In the past 15 years, I’ve had the privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with Australian soldiers in a maelstrom of combat through Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan. Invariably my ADF colleagues have been brave, highly …

Outsourcing accountability?

The recent defence security breach—labelled ‘ALF’ by the Australian Signals Directorate—involving an Adelaide-based defence contractor has been characterised as a cybersecurity incident. But closer examination indicates that the underlying causes have more to do with …

The Strategist Six: Greg Sammut

Welcome to The Strategist Six, a feature that provides a glimpse into the thinking of academics, government officials, military officers, reporters and interesting individuals from around the world. 1. How long will the Collins-class submarines operate …

Nuclear weapons and appropriate use

In Senate estimates last week, Senator Lisa Singh raised with representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade the issue of possible use of nuclear weapons. ‘In what circumstances’, she asked, ‘does the government’s …

The Battle of Beersheba, 100 years on

In Australia’s memory of the Great War, the Sinai–Palestine Campaign gets comparatively little thought after Gallipoli and the Western Front. The exception is the Battle of Beersheba, fought on 31 October 1917, which has lodged …

Gareth Evans: incorrigible optimist

A good political memoir offers the joy of the fight and the smell of the gang warfare. Insight is ever welcome. Ditto inspiration. Plus laughs to help the medicine go down. Gareth Evans’ Incorrigible optimist: …

Flight MH370: why the hunt isn’t over

Australian officials who led the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 airliner—believed to be in waters up to 6 kilometres deep off Western Australia—are confident that it will be found if the hunt resumes. …

ASPI suggests

The world China watchers everywhere have spent the week glued to their screens for the CCP’s 19th Party Congress. This Brookings Institution video explains why the Party Congress matters. The main event of the Party …

The only way forward on North Korea

Could the world soon witness another devastating war on the Korean peninsula? That question looms large in many conversations these days. Of course, concerns about the North Korean regime’s nuclear-weapons program are nothing new. The …