Hormuz: three critical islands
Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb occupy positions of strategic importance disproportionate to their size. Situated near the Strait of Hormuz, the three...
Hormuz: tolls and fees must be resisted
By Donald R Rothwell*
Two irrefutable fundamentals exist in the Strait of Hormuz which are colliding with a core tenet of the global rules-based international...
The Russian factor in the Pacific
New analysis from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute argues that Russia’s deepening economic and strategic reliance on China and its sizeable Pacific submarine fleet...
New UK augurs well for AUKUS
By Nick Crouch*
Australia, so dependent on Britain for AUKUS, needn’t worry about new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to defence or about opportunities for...
Cocos (Keeling) Islands as a security asset
By Troy Lee-Brown*
The marine park around the Cocos (Keeling) Islands should be understood as a national security asset, not just a conservation zone. This...
N Korea’s slow naval build-up
By Jihoon Yu*
North Korea’s naval modernisation is still in its early stages. Much of its surface and submarine fleet remains outdated, while its more...
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...
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...
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...