In his second incarnation as US President, Donald Trump will be more certain of his own instincts...
This will be a year of living with danger
If you thought 2024 was hard for defence and security, the outlook at the beginning of 2025...
Drug lords’ long range narco subs show what Australian Navy needs
by Anthony Bergin and Michael Shoebridge
‘Narco-subs’ are semi-submersible vessels drug lords have used for at least a decade to smuggle...
Job done for China’s ambassador — but 2025 will be much harder
China’s ambassador Xiao Qian has replaced wolf warrior language with silken tofu. According to his...
Varghese review will kill off fair, open policy debate
It seems the Albanese government is happy with, but not proud of, Peter Varghese’s “Independent...
When free trade ain’t free: Xi Jinping plays pretend with our enthusiastic prime minister
Back in 2017, early into Donald Trump’s first term as US President, China’s Communist Party leader...
PM’s precarious US-China juggling is about to reach its use by date
Anthony Albanese described his dialogue with Xi Jinping in Brazil last Monday as “crucial” and his...
PM’s secret think tank review: minimising discomfort for ministers & mandarins?
It’s time for the government to spill a secret: whatever happened to its ‘independent review’ of...
Australian defence policy under a Trump world order
Most commentary thus far has been on how the Australian government will handle a Trump...
Warfare and competition from 2024 on
Warfare has changed fundamentally. Rather than seeing it as a linear progression—or adapted...
A Defence Force that meets Australia’s strategic requirements: Paper 2 in A Blueprint for the Next Government
by Marcus Hellyer, Peter Jennings and Michael Shoebridge
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) and its strategic outlook are in crisis and urgent action is...
Accidental honesty: The Quad IS all about deterring an aggressive China
It’s great that US President Biden started the Quad Leaders meetings and that there have been four...
Australia’s missing nuclear debate – it’s not about subs
Recently, the nuclear debate, such as it is in Australia, has been captured by two significant...
Two ministers, two defence policies — same old delusions
The Albanese government has given us two defence ministers: Richard “Call me Deputy Prime...
Why Australia should be concerned if our major banks withdraw from the Pacific
by Bob Lyon and Anthony Bergin
The Albanese government recently pledged an extra $6.3 million to prevent the loss of banking...