Planet A The most authoritative international body advising the world on climate change has warned that the viability of a liveable and sustainable future rests on what will be done in the next seven years. …
Last week’s announcement of the ‘optimal pathway’ for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines has provoked further commentary on AUKUS. The breadth of the arguments illustrates how once stable strategic certainties have become fractured and contestable. There’s debate …
In this special episode, ASPI Executive Director Justin Bassi speaks with Richard Fontaine and Lisa Curtis from the Center for a New American Security and Alessio Patalano from King’s College London about the strategic imperatives …
The extent of the cruelty displayed by Russia’s invaders has shocked the people of Ukraine and deepened their determination to fight for their nation’s survival. Galyna Mykhailiuk, a member of Ukraine’s parliament and a highly …
Last week, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the pathway for AUKUS that will deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. Canberra will purchase three to five Virginia-class SSNs …
Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s seizure of power in August 2021, the Afghan refugee crisis, already one of the worst in the world, has intensified. Much attention has focused on Pakistan …
ASEAN centrality was the key principle that drove regional integration beginning with the Asian financial crisis in 1997 through to the mid-2000s. It was premised on an understanding that regional integration would be led by …
A massive double crisis is emerging between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority are confronting internal challenges that have cast shadows over their futures, and fast-rising tensions between the …
Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet is going to be expensive. Not only will the initial production cost run into the tens of billions, but there will be significant ongoing outlays for platform sustainment, operational use and …
As a middle power, South Korea has gone above and beyond when it comes to projecting its soft power on a global level. The worldwide success of the Korean movie Parasite, the Netflix series Squid …
One advantage that historians have over journalists concerns time, not so much in the sense that they are free from urgent deadlines, but that they have the deeper perspective conferred by the years—or decades—between events …
The latest United Nations scientific synthesis report on climate change, released yesterday, warns that significant additional global warming is already locked in and catastrophic climate impacts are rapidly becoming more likely. What will this mean …
The US-led overthrow of the government of Saddam Hussein in Iraq marked the beginning of a series of events that reshaped the strategic environment of the Middle East. It also had enduring consequences for Iraqi …
The issue of nuclear non-proliferation is back in the headlines, thanks to details announced last week about Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines under the AUKUS pact. The deal, which may cost Australia upwards of $300 …
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The subsequent failure by the forces sent into Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction commensurate with publicised Western assessments ensured that the basis for …
Former Australian defence minister Ian McLachlan has made a timely plea for genuine bipartisanship in defence planning to provide advice based on experience and to ensure continuity across successive governments. McLachlan, who was defence minister …
Sea state It will be several years before Australia receives its first nuclear-powered submarines under the ‘SSN AUKUS’ deal announced this week, but planning is already underway to develop a submarine ‘hub’ in Australia that …
On 17 March, Rear Admiral James Goldrick died in Canberra after a brave battle with illness. He was a naval officer of exceptional intellect and influence who became Australia’s most internationally acclaimed naval historian. Goldrick’s …
In a year that saw a significant deepening of Japan–Australia relations, a watershed moment of 2022 was the revision of the Japan–Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, first signed in 2007. The revised document lays …
In China-brokered talks, the two oil-rich and rival states of Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to restore diplomatic relations after a seven-year split. Although the two sides need much confidence-building, their rapprochement carries the …