Australia right to aid Gulf states
By Jennifer Parker*
In the second week of the escalating conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, Australia on 10 March announced a limited...
If rules matter for China, why not for our allies?
By Clive Williams*
More than a week after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the conflict has escalated into a multi-front war. Australians...
The law about the US sinking an Iranian warship
By Jennifer Parker*
News that a United States submarine had torpedoed and sunk the Iranian warship IRIS Dena about 40 nautical miles off Sri Lanka...
RNZAF surveillance in Pitcairn EEZ
On 18 February it was announced that a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-8A Poseidon aircraft has carried out a successful fisheries patrol...
Ex-sailor given 16 years for spying
A former U.S. Navy sailor convicted of selling technical and operating manuals for ships and operating systems to an intelligence officer working for China...
Lawfulness of US tanker boardings
By Jennifer Parker*
Recent US boardings of oil tankers linked to Venezuela have prompted claims of piracy and illegality under international law. In reality, many...
What are Freedom of Navigation ops?
By Kim Heriot-Darragh*
You probably know what a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) is. But do you really?
Maritime disputes have thrust international law into conversations...
New pirates of the Caribbean
By Tom Sharpe*
Every now and then something quite unusual happens at sea. Mechanical failures are not uncommon nor is a tow line parting, particularly...
UK, US vessels in Taiwan Strait
A U.S. and U.K. warship transited the Taiwan Strait this month (September 2025) last week drawing protests from Beijing, USNI News has learned.
U.S. guided-missile...
Blurry legal status of uncrewed vessels
By Pornomo Rovan Astri Yoga*
The South China Sea has always been a flashpoint for regional tension, but the next phase of its militarisation might...