![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/wave-2085408_640.jpg\" "\\"Image")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ahoy, readers.<\/span><\/p>\n First up this week, a look at the curious incident of the lost carrier battle group in the Asia\u2013Pacific. Let\u2019s be clear: this whole episode is whack. President Trump\u2019s claim that the US was \u2018sending an armada\u2019 turned out to have <\/span>a couple of trailing caveats<\/span><\/a>, the biggest being that the flotilla was inexplicably headed in the opposite direction to exercise with the RAN (the training portion was <\/span>later cancelled<\/span><\/a>). So in the end, the DPRK\u2019s sabre-rattling had been met with a<\/span> ghost fleet, an event which should give us all pause to reflect on just what reassurance means in the time of Trump. And how do we square this with Melania\u2019s (Michelle\u2019s) claim that <\/span>\u2018your word is your bond\u2019<\/span><\/a>?! There were a couple of useful WTF takes: <\/span>Gail Collins <\/span><\/a>in <\/span>The New York Times<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>David A. Graham<\/a>\u00a0over<\/span>\u00a0at <\/span>The Atlantic<\/span><\/i>, as well as <\/span>some local sentiments<\/span><\/a> in <\/span>The Wall Street Journal<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n Two good pieces on Brexit to gulp down: the first, an interactive from the <\/span>NYT<\/span><\/i>, assesses <\/span>London\u2019s heath and asks whether the city is set to fall<\/span><\/a>; the second, from the <\/span>NYRB<\/span><\/i>, parses the history of referenda on the EU question and looks at <\/span>how this whole Brexit thing is working out<\/span><\/a> (and where it could lead).<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re finding it a bit much trying to keep up with the ever-evolving Trump-Russia story (<\/span>impactful think tank work <\/span><\/a>being the latest), <\/span>The Washington Post<\/span><\/i> has you covered with <\/span>this handy collection<\/span><\/a> of the who, what, when and where. (\u201cWhy\u201d to follow?) The Post<\/em> has also released a <\/span>cracking podcast\/piece combo this week<\/a>\u00a0which<\/span>\u00a0looks at Russia\u2019s emerging role as chief guardian of sovereignty and \u2018the right\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n Kicking off our fresh research section this week is<\/span> an excellent longread from CNAS<\/span><\/a> which holds a magnifying glass to Chinese cyber intrusions into American and Taiwanese infrastructure, offering some thoughts on how to protect against them.\u00a0<\/span>A fresh report from CSIS<\/span><\/a> looks at defending US interests in a slightly different way\u2014through modernisation of its current missile defence program. Two new offerings from the Congressional Research Service and RAND examine the relationship between Chinese and American militaries:\u00a0<\/span>the first from CRS<\/span><\/a> discusses the implications of China\u2019s naval modernisation for the US Navy, and<\/span> the second from RAND<\/span><\/a> weighs up the extent of Chinese investment in US air power. Moving away from military capability, Charlie Winter of ICSR was recently interviewed by VOX-Pol on the development of Islamic State\u2019s online messaging tactics since 2014\u2014<\/span>read the transcript here<\/span><\/a>. And finally,<\/span> a sobering report from UNICEF<\/span><\/a> looks at how militant Islamist group Boko Haram has increased its use of children as suicide bombers in Central Africa, and offers firsthand accounts of the brutal treatment that abducted girls and boys are subjected to.<\/span><\/p>\n To wrap things up,<\/span> a stand-out article from <\/span>Nautilus<\/span><\/i><\/a> looks at the dark side of nostalgia and its impact as a political force. While people are more likely to remember the good than the bad when reflecting on previous experiences, they\u2019re unlikely to think about who might be negatively affected by what they might deem a better, simpler time\u2014for instance, the America that Trump supporters long for as they push to \u2018make America great <\/span>again<\/span>\u2019. Some of these values have been up for debate in the lead up to the release of controversial Hulu series <\/span>The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/span><\/i>, based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, which will premiere next week. Check out these three reviews (<\/span>one<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> two<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> three<\/span><\/a>) that draw parallels to Atwood\u2019s dystopian United States to the Washington DC of today.<\/span><\/p>\n Podcast<\/b><\/p>\n CAUSINDY has done plenty to improve the relationship between Australia and Indonesia \u00a0since its inception, but just this week, the youth organisation has upped its game once again\u2014this time with the launch of a brand new podcast. \u2018Aus\u2013Indo in 30\u2019, a fortnightly effort hosted by Nurina Savitri and Samantha Yap, both CAUSINDY alum, will zero in on a different aspect of the bilateral and feature a wide range of experts. To kick the new series off, <\/span>this week Savitri and Yap discuss<\/span><\/a> different representations of women and power across the two countries (28 mins). <\/span>Subscribe here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Video<\/b><\/p>\n CSIS recently released a solid new report on US missile defence (available <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>). They launched the effort with a presentation from the authors and a speech from Republican senator Dan Sullivan, who stuck around for a meaty Q&A to dive into what’s\u00a0necessary when it comes to \u2018defending the homeland\u2019. <\/span>Check it out<\/span><\/a> (2 hours, 23 mins).<\/span><\/p>\n Events<\/b><\/p>\n Canberra: The ANU will soon host <\/span>Poland\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Witold Waszczykowski, for a speech on regional security and migration<\/span>. Tickets are free and set to walk out the door, so <\/span>get in quick<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n