Washington has a serious long-term relationship dilemma with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And President Obama’s April visit to Saudi Arabia—the fourth one as president—was all about trying to shore up that relationship. Notwithstanding the …
In March the US State Department dropped a line to the Australian people via The Australian newspaper to let us know how fearful we are of Chinese investment. To illustrate their point, they homed in …
The White House announced last week that President Obama would visit Hiroshima later this month, making him the first US president to do so. He won’t be apologising for the US’s dropping of the atomic …
In an interesting turn of events, it appears that the 2014 Sony hack, February’s Bangladeshi bank heist and the attempted breach of a Vietnamese bank last year may all be linked. Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank …
The terrain of the Media Age is a networked series of places—both land and a land of the mind. The borders are ever more porous. A vital part of the terrain is still occupied by …
The first batch of three River-class OPVs (HMS Tyne, Severn and Mersey) were ordered for the Royal Navy in April of 2001, built in Southampton, and commissioned in the second half of 2003. A fourth, …
Sea State The US Department of Defense released its annual report to Congress on China’s military and security developments on Friday, drawing particular attention to China’s actions in the South China Sea. The Pentagon review …
A major cyclone recently passed by Samoa. The Category-5 Cyclone Winston recently devastated Fiji, resulting in more than 44 fatalities and dislocating 350,000 people. Natural disasters will continue to ravage our Pacific neighbours. Nearly 10,000 …
At the launch of Australia’s new Cyber Security Strategy last month, the Prime Minister confirmed what many have been guessing for years: Australia possesses offensive cyber capabilities. The announcement, however, provided us with the barest …
Whoever finds herself as Foreign Minister after the 2 July federal election, she will need to adapt quickly to a new form of ‘dancing with the stars’. The election of Rodrigo ‘Digong’ Duterte as President …
The other week, ASPI’s Cesar Alvarez and Simon Norton published a cogent argument for the greater protection of Australia’s private and public sector whistle-blowers. With startling statistics, Cesar and Simon highlight that: ‘…of the 80% …
‘Electric circuitry has overthrown the regime of “time” and “space” and pours upon us instantly and continuously the concerns of all other men.’ Marshall McLuhan, 1967. ‘The traditional factors of production …
The Associated Press has launched a strong interactive site, Ramadi in Ruins, which allows visitors to chart the devastation of the Iraqi city after it was captured by the Islamic State in May 2015 before being …
2016 has so far been an interesting year for those of us with an eye on the world of nuclear politics and proliferation. To ring in the New Year, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear …
2016 is a big year for centenaries, because 1916 was the pivotal year in the First World War. One hundred years ago in February German forces attacked the French at Verdun, while 1 July will …
This week the Pentagon ordered the USS William P. Lawrence, a guided-missile destroyer, to sail within 12 nautical miles of the land feature China has constructed on Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea. …
Last week’s confirmation that Australian Islamic State member, Neil Prakash, had been killed in a US air strike has been greeted as a cause for optimism in the war against the terrorist group. But what’s …
The Beat Report: Australia’s advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade released its final report to conclude the inquiry into Australia’s advocacy for the …
Rodrigo Duterte’s victory in the Philippines’ Presidential elections has introduced new uncertainty into Asia’s security outlook. The populist strongman from Davao, which is the largest city in Mindanao, is nicknamed ‘The Punisher’ and ‘Duterte Harry’ …
When Washington dispatched a joint special operations task force to the southern Philippines in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, it was motivated by evidence that the Abu Sayyaf (ASG) militant group had links with …