The wrong ships for the wrong job
The United States is not winning the Iran war. It is not going to win it. I have been making that argument since the...
Australia-Japan statement on security cooperation
On 4 May 2026 the Commonwealth Government released the Australia-Japan Leaders Statement on Enhanced Defence and Security Cooperation. After the signing Prime Minister Anthony...
Russian oil hub tanker disappears
A 346-metre-long tanker that serves as a key hub for Russian Arctic oil exports has effectively “disappeared” from ship tracking systems. The operators of...
The Ides of March and the Tides of Trade
By Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande, Indian Navy (Retired)*
At the time of writing (March 2026), the soothsayer’s twice-spoken warning in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar — “Beware...
China’s expanding maritime presence
By Joe Keary, Raji Rajagopalan and Linus Cohen*
China’s defence and security presence beyond the Western Pacific is set to intensify over the next decade, expanding its...
First RAN Vietnam port visit
The flight deck of HMAS Toowoomba was akin to an informal United Nations General Assembly recently, as more than a dozen nations gathered on...
Mogami deal: more than just ships
The signing of the “Mogami Memorandum” aboard the JS Kumano frigate docked in Melbourne on April 18, 2026, marks a pivotal geopolitical moment, one...
Santions-busting tanker’s Cuba trip
Following its delivery of 100,000 tonnes of oil to Cuba, the Anatoly Kolodkin has arrived at the far northern Russian port of Murmansk, the...
Could Argentina retake the Falklands?
By Tom Sharpe*
Interest in the Falkland Islands rises and falls predictably. The anniversary of the 1982 liberation is usually a peak. Argentina generally stirs...
Maritime security a constant concern
By Sean Andrews*
A retired senior naval wag once quipped that Australia behaves as if it is “girt by beach”, not sea – a neat...