AUKUS sets a clear direction for Australia’s defence

AUKUS is the best thing to have happened in years to give Xi pause in his international risk-taking. The stronger AUKUS is, for example, the less likely he will risk war with an attack on Taiwan.

Lessons from Afghanistan

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is a tragedy for the millions of Afghans who believed the line that the United States, NATO, Australia and others were there to protect them and give their country a chance of stability.

What really happened in Wuhan?

An American review into the murky origins of the pandemic which has disrupted the world over the past 18 months may help light on some issues the Chinese Communist Party would rather stay hidden.

Australian clarity, Chinese bluster and Kiwi equivocation

Australia’s strong stance against Chinese bullying stands in stark contrast to New Zealand’s increasingly mealy-mouthed approach.

We must stand with Taiwan

Communist China continues to ratchet up pressure on Taiwan with repeated incursions of its airspace, and the whole free world – including Australia – has a duty to stand steadfast in its defence.

The genius of this nation

January 26 marks the anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival in Sydney in 1788 but also offers a starting point for conversations about moving forward into the future.

Shaping the America that Australia needs

Australia will need to court America’s support to resist an ever more aggressive China, and so good relations must be forged with Joe Biden’s new administration.

Australia’s options for pushing back against Beijing

Capitulation to the bullies of Beijing is unthinkable, but after years of being lulled into complacency, we need some policy imagination and decisive decision-making to secure our future interests.

Strong alliances and robust defence will keep the peace with China

There are some positive outcomes from the Chinese Communist Party’s descent into North Korean–style insult and abuse: Australians get to see firsthand the entity we are dealing with, and Beijing’s collection of local useful idiots are tested to see how far they will defend the indefensible behaviour of their patron.

The rocky road to redemption

Paul Brereton’s report on SAS incidents forces us to confront the worst of what happened on our watch in Uruzgan Province. We should not lose the chance to think hard about the wider story: why we were there and what we thought we were doing.

China’s wolf-warrior tactics are here to stay

Taken together, Xi’s opaque speeches, his military’s coercive behaviour and the increasingly unhinged statements of China’s diplomats and party-controlled media make the Communist Party’s intentions all too clear.

Why Australia needs new foreign relations law

The Morrison government is closing the door on a disastrous decade for Australia where our greed and naivety turned us wilfully blind to the predatory ambitions of China.