Australia sees itself as the natural leader of the South Pacific. The preferred senior-partner synonyms these days are ‘partner of choice’ and ‘principal security partner’. Australian leadership ambition has a deep-seated strategic denial instinct, the …
The concept of recruiting Pacific islanders into the Australian military is neither a new nor a good idea. And yet in the past few weeks it has seen commentators in the media, in think tanks …
Karl Claxton’s recent Strategist post suggests that Operation Pacific Assist to cyclone-damaged Vanuatu could provide an opportunity to ‘reset regional cooperation’. As ‘practical avenues for reviving habits of cooperation’, he suggests that humanitarian assistance and …