News
South China sea dilemma: not just a territorial dispute
Beijing has cast a peaceful light on its construction of airfields, ports and radar antennae on 800 hectares of new man-made islands in the South China Sea, claiming they are intended for...
Australia’s anti-Islamic State pushback must be made to work
Former diplomat and essayist Owen Harries once bemoaned our tendency to be blinkered by our “parochialism of the present”. He described it as the tendency to believe that what is happening now, and...
B-1 bombers brouhaha: minor disrupt, big rift
In a showdown with China, Obama would face a humliating back down or an unwinnable war. Does Abbott want to be part of that? writes HUGH WHITE Our government was embarrassed and angry last week...
Australia can change Asia for the better
Australia has the resources and clout to push for major change in the region, including issues as divisive as the death penalty. The real challenge is whether we have the ideas, arguments and...
Looking beyond the legend
As Australia marks the centenary of the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign, four war historians examine what Anzac means and dig a little deeper into the myths and legends surrounding one of the nation’s...
Lest we forget what really happened
Mourning, myth and memory clash in centenary of Anzac, writes James Giggacher. One hundred years ago Australian soldiers, part of an allied army, made a botched dawn landing on the shores of the...
The secret to success
ANU historian collects prestigious spy-writing award for first official history of Australia’s Secret Intelligence Organisation.Professor David Horner, from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre...
Student prize honours fallen soldier
A prize aimed at first-year security studies students at The Australian National University has been established in commemoration of an Australian soldier who died during World War II.Private Clark...
Is Australia's engagement with Asia over?
A new book on Australia’s role in Asia finds the country has moved to a new phase in its relationships with the region.From towing back boats to cattle bans and ignored pleas for clemency, it would...
When bad politics can lead to good policy
We're often told good policy is good politics. Sometimes however what seems like terrible politics can create good policy. So it is with Australia's submarines, writes ANDREW CARR.Ever since the last...