Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte became the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines on 30 June 2016 following an overwhelming election victory. In his inaugural address, President Duterte asked for a level of …
With the spectre of a Trump presidency on the wane, governments everywhere—especially the allies of the US—are breathing a collective sigh of relief. What they really need to do is to begin thinking about the …
The Beat It’s all about that face Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy & Technology recently released an investigatory report (PDF) on the growing use of facial recognition systems in law enforcement. Among the key findings …
Let’s cut to the chase. Few strategic assessments have ever recommended the deleting of a hyphen in favour of a dash as a principal policy recommendation. So Andrew Phillips’ recent ASPI Strategy paper, From Hollywood …
A transformation in military space capabilities is occurring hundreds of kilometres above the Earth’s surface as the US Air Force X-37B Space Plane logs over 500 days in orbit in its latest mission. The unmanned …
Last Tuesday the G7 announced that they have agreed to new ‘non-binding principles’ to protect the global financial system from cyber threats such as last year’s SWIFT hacking incident in Bangladesh. A US Treasury …
Passport cancellations are one of the few tangible and public measures of how Australia’s going in the fight against terrorism. ASIO made the latest number of passport cancellations public last week, when it tabled its …
The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who would have been 89 in December, leaves Thailand bereft of a leader who steered the nation by demonstrating great care and attention to its people. For most of …
Sea State The USS Mason, a US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was attacked twice (and had one false alarm) last week off the coast of Yemen. The attacks were launched from territory held by the Iranian-backed Houthi …
Realists argue there’s only one genuine philosophical principle to guide a nation’s foreign policy. In the first recorded debate between realists and idealists, Thucydides reported the Athenians telling the Melians, ‘the strong do what they …
Australia and New Zealand see the world and respond to it differently. That’s not to say there aren’t areas of agreement—free trade, democracy, human rights—but when it comes to defence and foreign policy, there are …
Almost seven decades after it was created as the first Islamic republic of the postcolonial era, Pakistan is teetering on the edge of an abyss. The economy is stagnant, unemployment is high, and resources are …
Des Ball was an extraordinary Oz strategist in range and depth. Des, who died last week, was a virtuoso on global strategy, Asia–Pacific security and Australian defence policy. He worked at the highest level on …
Professor Desmond Ball AO, a towering figure of issues strategic and defence, passed away on Wednesday after a long illness. While Graeme Dobell will reflect on Des’ enormous impact in his Monday column, a few …
Last month, Australian Secret Intelligence Service Director-General Nick Warner warned that ISIS affiliates are ‘in Australia’s backyard’, posing a growing threat to Australia’s national security. During a rare public appearance in Washington DC, he told …
There’s been a slew of criticism recently of Russian and Saudi bombing of civilian areas during Middle East conflicts. And there’s evidence that the Russian bombing campaign in particular isn’t going out of its way …
Lone wolf attacks are nothing new, but they’ve become more common and increasingly harder to predict over the past 12 months. The threat picture is disparate; some plots show evidence of external direction and coordination, …
The Beat Rampant mortgage fraud in Oz A new UBS survey has revealed the extent of ‘systemic’ mortgage fraud across Australia. Of the 1,228 recent homebuyers surveyed, 28% admitted to misrepresenting information on their mortgage …
Yesterday the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) released its second annual Threat Report (PDF), outlining the cybersecurity challenges Australia faces and further developing Australia’s approach to cyberspace. This year’s ACSC report offers a detailed breakdown …
Yesterday the Australian government (with the PM and three cabinet ministers in attendance) announced that it’s going to split ASC into three separate but still government-owned companies, to ‘support the key capabilities of shipbuilding, submarine …