China grabs another bit of ocean
Earlier this month, China quietly turned a swathe of the Gulf of Tonkin into an extension of Chinese internal waters, simply by declaring a...
US supports Philippines over SCS island
The Second Thomas Shoal has been in the news again recently, with the Chinese Coast Guard and Maritime Militia shouldering off Philippine vessels trying...
Defence Industry Development Strategy released
On 29 February the Commonwealth Government released its long-awaited Defence Industry Development Strategy (DIDS). It said it was “a master plan that defines the...
Legal issues with uncrewed vessels
By Simon McKenzie*
The Australian Navy is set to be transformed. On top of existing plans for nuclear submarines, the government yesterday announced a scheme...
The Red Sea and naval policy drift
By Richard Menhinick*
Last year I wrote the maritime opinion piece on the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) for the WA Defence Review 2022–23 annual issue....
2024: the big security issues
The first big national security story of 2024 in the Indo-Pacific may well come just 13 days into the new year: Taiwan’s presidential elections,...
Netherlands ups northern surveillance
The Netherlands plans to spend as much as €250 million (U.S. $274 million) on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in the North Sea to...
Extradition looms in US Navy bribe case
The extradition of convicted defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis to the United States as part of the Venezuelan prisoner swap on Wednesday is...
Australia should have gone to Red Sea
By Jennifer Parker*
Over the past month, the Iranian backed Houthi militia in Yemen has recommenced its attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea....
What is Australia’s strategy of denial
By Richard Dunley*
The 2023 defence strategic review has been broadly welcomed across the Australian strategic policy commentariat. (The Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The Strategist.)...