Antarctic trouble for Australia
By Marigold Black and Peter Dortmans*
Antarctica, as one of the largest shared spaces on the planet, represents an emerging nexus of geostrategic competition. Australia may...
Chinese naval modernisation
By Carlyle A. Thayer*
This Background Brief was originally submitted to Australia Commonwealth Department of Defence Inquiry on the 2013 Defence White Paper on February...
Russian ramps up presence in Med
Russia has reinforced its naval presence in the Mediterranean, much more than usual. This can be seen as an outer defense layer for naval...
Maritime forces and Ukraine crisis
Three Russian guided-missile cruisers have been arrayed across the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to counter three NATO carrier strike groups, causing concern...
Indo-Pacific: governments failing on climate
A new book from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Climate and Security Policy Centre warns that governments have failed to grasp the vast scale...
Indonesia’s statement of intent
By Sam Roggeveen*
The fuss made over Quad meeting in Melbourne (Feb 2022) is quite out of proportion to the group’s significance. Australians shouldn’t take any...
The curious case of Blenheim Reef
A remote sandbank in the middle of the Indian Ocean, known as Blenheim Reef, is hitting the international news. The Mauritian government has sponsored...
The Quad moves to delivery stage
By Michael Shoebridge*
Let’s hope the Quad and AUKUS get boring. It’s rare in the politics of diplomacy to have no new ‘announceables’ or major...
Frigate’s trip shows Germany’s intent in the Indo-Pacific
By Bertil Wenger*
The German Navy frigate Bayern is making its way home after its six-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific. Earlier this week, the Brandenburg-class...
Malacca: US v China
By Adam Greco*
For centuries, merchant vessels have passed from the Indian Ocean to Eastern Asia through a small waterway nestled inside Southeast Asia. The...