For over 15 years now, there’s been an ASPI presentation on the defence budget at the Australian Defence Magazine’s annual defence industry conference. Mark Thomson did the lion’s share of them, but I’ve been the …
In my last post, I considered the high-level strategic policy implications of strengthening Australia’s relationships with the US and other nations as part of an effort to support the US national defence strategy (NDS). That …
The release of the Trump administration’s 2018 national defence strategy (NDS) in January highlighted a more dangerous threat environment with an assertive China and aggressive Russia at the top of US concerns. The document states …
The US is the essential status quo power, led by a revisionist president. China loves the current status quo, while liking how the tide of change flows its way. The labels ‘status quo’ and ‘revisionist’ …
Strategic relations exhibit a sort of dialectic. Australia scans for regional developments that might affect its security, and regional nations assess Australia’s responses to its strategic environment and respond in accord with their own interests. …