Planet A The UN Security Council has warned that the increasing rate at which sea levels are rising poses a serious threat to 900 million people living in low-lying coastal areas. After the council’s first …
It has long been a concern that North Korea’s nuclear posturing would goad or frighten its neighbours into developing their own nuclear capability. Now South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has raised the prospect of Seoul …
On the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it’s timely to consider how this brutal war might be resolved. The chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, …
Literature and movies heavily feature themes of espionage and foreign interference. They focus on a dangerous, fast-moving world that provides people with an escape from their everyday lives. However, many in our community would not …
In January, China officially acknowledged that its population began to decline last year—roughly nine years earlier than Chinese demographers and the United Nations had projected. The implications of this are hard to overstate. It means …
Australian policymakers have increasingly spoken of the need to use all the tools of statecraft in international engagement. This includes statements by the prime minister, defence minister, foreign ministers (current, former and shadow), minister for development, chief of the defence force and others. So, what does ‘all …
In his 2023 annual threat assessment address, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Mike Burgess, characterised Australia’s security environment as complex, challenging and changing. Burgess made it unequivocally clear that while threats to …
More than six decades ago, the world’s most generous water-sharing pact was concluded. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, upstream India left the lion’s share of the waters from the subcontinent’s six-river Indus system for downstream …
‘We treat our friends with fine wine, but for our enemies we have shotguns.’ — Gui Congyou (桂从友), former Chinese ambassador to Sweden, 2019 The People’s Republic of China is increasingly using a range of …
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil launched the government’s ‘critical infrastructure risk management program’ yesterday. The minister is clearly focused on preventing a repeat of last year’s high-profile and publicly contentious hacks of Optus and Medibank. …
On 18 February, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar gave a keynote address at the inaugural Raisina @ Sydney dialogue, organised by ASPI and the Observer Research Foundation. The following is a lightly edited version …
Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t met any of the strategic objectives he alluded to when he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago. In fact, no reasonable person can deny that the war …
Australia’s defence and technology industry will be tested like never before by the AUKUS partnership in managing the torrent of sensitive information flowing from partner countries and in defining the shape of the agreement itself. …
Australia’s economic opportunities in South Asia extend far beyond India. While the tariff reductions and other measures under the new economic cooperation and trade agreement will support the Australia–India economic relationship, Bangladesh is another country …
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quick to claim that a spy balloon breaching US territorial airspace and flying close enough to military sites to monitor them was ‘a civilian airship used for research, mainly …
The ‘Malacca dilemma’ is generally considered to top China’s list of strategic concerns. The narrow strait linking the Indian and Pacific oceans serves as the conduit for around 60% of China’s oil imports. In a …
In this episode, ASPI’s Baani Grewal speaks to Ashok Malik, partner and chair of the India Practice at The Asia Group and ASPI visiting fellow. They discuss India’s foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, …
Sea state BAE Systems Australia has proposed building new air warfare destroyers to boost the Royal Australian Navy’s firepower at a time of growing strategic tensions in the Indo-Pacific. If it wins government approval, the …
For the third time in less than a century, the US government has rapidly awakened to Australia’s strategic importance. On this occasion, it’s focused on the significance of Australia’s northern strategic geography. While on previous …
Much has been written on the importance of guided weapons and ensuring conflicts aren’t lost through a shortage of ammunition. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles’s observation about the need for ‘impactful projection’ …