News
Will a Turnbull government mean a new foreign policy for Australia?
There has been speculation that Australia’s recent change in prime minister from Tony Abbott to Malcolm Turnbull will mean a shift in Australia’s choice of partners in Asia. The change does not mean...
Tony Abbott's Most Expensive Three-Word Slogan: '2 per cent' of GDP on Defence
Under the Abbott government, the Defence Department was the focus of two 'three-word slogans'. The first was helping Immigration to 'stop the boats'. The second was a promise to put defence spending...
Sea folly and US-China relations
After months of increasing concerns about China's land reclamation in the South China Sea, going back to at least May, the United States decision to conduct a patrol within 12 nautical miles of...
Taiwan's election result could push US and China closer to conflict
With tensions over Taiwan rising, Australia might have to ask itself a tough question. Read Taiwan's election result could push US and China closer to conflict.
Where is MIKTA heading next?
With a relatively small amount of media coverage, foreign ministers of five nations—Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia—met in New York last week for the sixth MIKTA ministerial...
The Protest Years
A visit by former Yugoslavian president Dzemal Bijedic to Australia in March 1973 came with a great deal of fuss attached.A few days before he was scheduled to arrive, a squad of Commonwealth Police...
Why the PLA is a paper tiger
It’s becoming commonplace to drum up the military threat from China and belittle America’s military capabilities. Much of this commentary reminds me of statements in the mid-1980s that the former...
Defence consulted over Chinese company's Landbridge 99-year port deal, Chief Minister Adam Giles says
The NT Government has moved to allay any concerns about Chinese interests taking a 99-year lease over Darwin’s port, as military tensions increase between the US and China. » Read...
We asked an expert why Australia has stopped bombing Syria
It was revealed earlier this week that Australian forces haven't flown a mission in Syria since the Russians arrived. On Thursday the Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral David Johnston downplayed...
Reflections on East Timor
A new book on Australia’s involvement in East Timor offers a multitude of views on the 1999 intervention. In September 1999, as East Timor’s move for independence from Indonesia threatened to spiral...
