Indian perceptions of the Indian Ocean

In his June 2012 visit to India, Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta gave a speech that described India as central to the United States’ Indian Ocean strategy. As he put it: ‘America is at …

ASPI suggests

As usual, we’ve compiled a mix of new reports and articles for your weekend reading pleasure as well as events for the coming week. First up is some defence industry news. The consolidation of global …

Grand Strategy: leaving Afghanistan

The grand strategy framework discussed in previous posts helps structure our thinking but when applying it we need to apply context and judgement in order to produce an actionable plan. The first step is to …

Aid and building maritime capacity

As a country that’s acutely aware of its own interests in the oceans around it, you’d think that Australia would be playing a leading role in ocean management and development in the wider region. But …

A new strategic partner in North Asia?

In an age of increasingly competitive multilateralism, success will go to those countries best able to diversify their interests and manage a wide range of bilateral relationships. This will be no small challenge for Australia. …

Trouble at the docks?

The government’s recent announcement of a further delay to the $7.9 billion Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project has been met with a degree of cynicism. Although the government says that the delay is needed to preserve workforce …

The swings and roundabout of defence reform

On Monday we promised to provide some suggestions for implementing the recent 364-page report from the Senate Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Reference Committee on ‘Procurement procedures for Defence capital projects’. Today we’ll discuss one …

Reader response: Defence is different

I think that Alex Tewes has created a ‘straw man’ version of my argument in his rejoinder rather than dealing with my serious suggestions. My proposal to make Defence leadership’s views public, as well as …

ASPI suggests

As usual, we’ve rounded up this week’s useful reports and articles, as well as interesting events related to Strategist themes. First for today is Chris Elder and Robert Ayson’s new policy primer (PDF) that looks …

Re-re-re-reforming Defence acquisition

The recent Senate committee report ‘Procurement procedures for Defence capital projects’ was naturally of great interest to us, concerned as it was with our core business. We weren’t dispassionate observers of the process either; we …

Neither democracy nor defence planning

One of the things I like about Jim Molan is the relish and obvious enthusiasm with which he brandishes his lance at the many windmills that rise out of Russell Hill. However, I was dismayed …

New Zealanders and the rising cost of Afghanistan

Two multiple casualty incidents in one fortnight have made August the deadliest period for New Zealand’s Defence Force in Afghanistan. In those two weeks, the death toll among New Zealand’s deployed forces—in theatre for a …

On democracy and defence planning

If I go to a public hospital and it is inadequate to my needs, I have immediate feedback that there’s a policy failure. I express my dissatisfaction immediately and if there is no improvement I …

ASPI suggests

This week, we’ve compiled a list of interesting and informative reports and articles for your reading pleasure, as well as a few events to attend. First off the mark, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Dinah …