Discussion of a cyberattack of such gravity to be considered a new Pearl Harbor or even a 9/11 moment is now almost clichéd. For example, in early 2011, then CIA chief Leon Panetta warned the …
Hugh White got it wrong last week. He erroneously asserted that the two amphibious Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) and three Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) ships currently being built for the Navy are destined for a …
Last week, the furore over spying allegations revealed in reports leaked by Edward Snowden that rocked Europe reached Australia. On Thursday 31 October, Fairfax papers reported that Australia had been spying on its neighbour from …
The arcane world of electronic surveillance is suddenly prominent. Based on Edward Snowden’s comments, the media holds that America dramatically expanded electronic surveillance after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to include Angela Merkel, 35 other foreign …
A lively debate has emerged on Australia’s $8 billion acquisition of three Hobart-class Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs*). Some see the possibility that the new government in Canberra might add another AWD to this procurement order—though …
The idea that China’s one-party state will eventually implode under the strains of authoritarianism’s inherent weaknesses might seem both reassuring and obvious. Such an eventuality, the thinking goes, would be the inevitable upshot of China’s …
I’ve just got back from the Korber Foundation’s 154th Bergedorf roundtable in Jakarta. They set me the easy task of describing Asia’s five most significant military developments, along with their drivers and the confidence-building measures …
Anthony Bergin and Anthony Press’ recent post ‘Defence and Climate Change‘ is right on the money. Defence needs to do more than it’s already doing to prepare the ADF to face the challenges of a warming planet. …
As with Vietnam, the Australian military will leave Afghanistan believing it won its bit of the war, even if the Afghanistan war is eventually judged a disaster. This is the limited right of small alliance …
Further revelations of US intelligence activity, including tapping of friendly world leaders phones, has put Washington’s intelligence community on the defensive. The Economist writes: On October 29th, realising that the political mood in Washington was, …
Julian Assange and Edward Snowden have provided manna from heaven for the army of journalists and editors besotted by spy stories. Sensational disclosures of government secrets and spying activities are splashed all over the media …
A recent media report that the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper has been removed from DFAT’s website is correct. The White Paper now resides at Australia’s web archive, known as PANDORA, perhaps in …
This week, I participated in the 39th meeting of the Australian Member Committee of the Council for Security Co-operation in the Asia-Pacific (Aus-CSCAP) in Darwin. This year’s theme was the US ‘rebalance’ and Southeast Asia, with …
This week the fallout from the leak of classified NSA documents continued, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her outrage at the revelation the US had been tapping her phone for up to ten years, …
If you read some of the media coverage of this week’s meeting between US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and New Zealand Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman, you might have thought that the two countries have just …
Russell Hunter and Victor Lal’s reflection on the implications of the election on Australia’s relations with Fiji raises more questions than it answers. The orthodox view since the military coup in December 2006 has been …
On Monday, seven weeks after Australia’s federal election, the new Prime Minister and the new Opposition leader stood together in Afghanistan to declare the end to Australia’s longest war. The message from Tony Abbott and …
What it means to be part of the Anglosphere (or, more precisely, what it means to be outside the Anglosphere) has apparently become very clear in the last week, following the revelation of America spying …
View Larger Map In a recent post here on The Strategist, Benjamin Schreer spoke of China’s ‘Achilles heel’ in Southeast Asia: its unwillingness to compromise in the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. This …
I think Geoff Wade has overstated China’s interest in Sabah and Malaysia’s willingness to work militarily with a big power such as China. Except for its traditional allies (US, UK, Australia, NZ & Singapore), I’d …