Money doesn’t talk, it swears

Australia’s casinos have become a hotspot for global money-laundering operations.

The Australian Navy in the South China Sea

Over the past century, Australia’s activities in the South China Sea have reflected the reality that our security was, is and will continue to be closely associated with the security of maritime Southeast Asia.

The U.S. Navy falls under China’s shadow

The growing strength of the Chinese Navy, and the escalating costs of countering its threat to Taiwan and the Pacific, will force the United States Navy to make some difficult choices in the years ahead.

Head in the clouds

Australia’s peak intelligence agency, the Office of National Intelligence, is beginning an essential, radical and rapid shift into cloud applications and services.

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.

Beyond the wire

How could 39 alleged unlawful killings of Afghan people by members of Australia’s special forces have occurred over years while no officer in command of those soldiers knew about or had reasonable grounds to suspect the crimes?

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.

Rethinking Australia’s relations with the USA and China

Sophie Mayo argues that Australia should hedge its bets between China and the USA at a time of increasing international tensions, and look to diversify its economic and strategic ties.

Pulling back the veil

Allegations of atrocities by Australian special forces in Afghanistan have been circulating for years, and the forthcoming report on the issue may raise some uncomfortable issues.

Filling the hollow middle in Australia’s defence industry

A number of issues are holding back Australia’s defence manufacturers from making the leap from SME to major player.

Air force ramps up for ‘grey zone’ missions

The Royal Australian Air Force must be able to operate in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific ‘grey zone’ of super power confrontation.

Foreign election interference on the rise

Cyber interference in Western elections by states such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea continues to increase, with the aim of destabilising or delegitimising democratic governments and democracy itself.