The privatisation of provocation
By Cory Alpert*
In mid-June, a small maritime drone, no larger than a car, got close enough to a Chinese warship to photograph it operating...
Philippines’ new South China Sea strategy
By Xiaobo Liu and Sophie Wushuang Yi*
When China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Philippine counterpart Tess Lazaro on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering...
A wider role for the US Coast Guard
By Bruce Stubbs
I. Introduction
The United States should designate the U.S. Coast Guard as its lead agency for maritime security in the Western Hemisphere. In...
Trump-class ships to cost $275bn
The potential cost of the Navy’s new nuclear-powered battleship procurement program is estimated to be $275 billion, with the first Trump-class battleship (BBG(X)) costing...
From the ANI archive: The FFG upgrade
The mid-life modernisation of surface combatants has been a vexed issue over the history of the RAN. When to do it? How comprehensive? Is...
China vetting US’s mistakes in Iran
Wars are unpredictable. In the immortal words of Niccolò Machiavelli, “wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please”. What...
Protecting freedom of the seas
By Simon Tisdall
The US military campaign to protect merchant shipping from Iranian attacks by asserting direct maritime control in the strait of Hormuz is...
HMAS Leeuwin maps PNG seabed
Australian Navy hydrographic survey ship HMAS Leeuwin has utilised a new capability to provide extremely detailed, 3D images of the sea floor during its survey deployment...
Australia likely to change drone program
Australia could scrap plans to develop a fleet of large “drone ships” with the United States and instead seek to partner with Britain on...
Markets close strait before missiles fire
By Meng Kit Tang*
Tanker traffic in the Persian Gulf fell from 138 transits to fewer than eight within days of insurers withdrawing war-risk coverage...