Today, ASPI released our report on Time to start worrying again? Cross-strait stability after the 2016 Taiwanese elections (PDF). It argues that the Australian government would be well-advised to pay greater attention to the emerging cross-Strait …
There’s little that’s new in our new White Paper, but there’s one bold innovation which has so far received less attention that it deserves. The Turnbull Government has substantially downgraded, if not quite completely abandoned, …
Back in mid-February, we were in India for the 2016 Quad Plus Dialogue as guests of the Vivekananda International Foundation. This was the third event in a series that kicked off in Canberra in 2013. …
The release of the Defence White Paper, Defence Integrated Investment Plan (DIIP) and Defence Industry Policy Statement (DIPS) provides what industry has been asking for over the last 18 months; some certainty. Certainty about how …
Today marks International Women’s Day, so it’s a pertinent time to assess how Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper addresses the issue of women, peace and security (WPS). At first glance, the paper provides a useful …
Sea State The US Navy’s John C. Stennis Strike Group has been dispatched to the South China Sea this week. According to the Navy’s 7th Fleet, the group transited the Luzon Strait on 1 March …
Note: All growth rates are compounding rates calculated between initial and final year. The Defence workforce is often viewed through the Orwellian lens of uniformed personnel good, civilian personnel bad. It’s as if the former …
There’s always a certain anticlimax when the latest Defence White Paper is released. The once-feverish anticipation eases as firm plans are set in concrete and potential maybes are accepted or rejected. However, there’s more to …
The current controversy over Australia’s Future Submarine Program, its schedule and the associated life-of-type of the current Collins class has resulted in much hyperbole as to the difficulties associated with keeping elderly boats in operation. …
As US President Barack Obama prepares to embark on an historic visit to Cuba, the future of the communist-ruled island is the subject of widespread speculation. Some observers are hoping that the ongoing shift toward capitalism, …
Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper states that it’s second Strategic Defence Interest is ‘a secure nearer region, encompassing maritime Southeast Asia and the South Pacific’ (3:68), which includes Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Pacific …
A Defence White Paper is analysis framed by numbers. More than dollars and equipment, the numbers offer meanings and mental maps. Seek the topography from the typography. The crudest measure is to rank countries by …
While the memory of Super Tuesday is bound to fade as the campaigns roll on across the US, it’s providing ample fodder for the number crunchers, campaign strategists, political tragics and the comments section commentariat. The …
The 2016 Defence White Paper, in considering the ADF’s approach to the use of outer space for military purposes, highlights a significant potential path for the ADF, and more broadly, for Australian space policy in …
While the PM has heralded the 2016 Defence White Paper as visionary, its treatment of cyber policy is stuck in first gear. As noted by Tobias Feakin last week, DWP 2016 has provided more money …
In part one of this series, I examined some of the limitations of a lead acid Main Storage Battery for Australia’s Future Submarines (FSM), the potential advantages offered by lithium ion alternatives now being developed …
Broader investment in C4ISR is becoming increasingly critical in the face of evolving threats and changes in technology according to the 2016 Defence White Paper. The Government plans to invest around $22 billion (out-turned prices) or …
Australia enters China’s strategic landscape because of its role as a close military ally of the US. It’s seen by many inside China as the ‘southern anchor’ of America’s alliance system in the Asia–Pacific region. …
The Super Tuesday results suggest that the Democratic Party coronation of Hillary Clinton has resumed and that the insurrection that propelled Donald Trump into the Republican Party lead continues unabated. Neither primary nomination contest is …
Four years ago we produced a paper on the production timeline for the future submarine, and what that meant for the longevity of the Collins fleet. Our ‘Mind the Gap’ paper was based on information …