Don’t rush to judge our special forces

Allegations of serious misconduct against Australia’s special forces should be handled with greater consideration for the reputation of soldiers who have done no wrong.

Australia needs better disaster management and risk reduction education

While there have been some notable moves to improve management of national resilience issues, non-natural hazards pose a range of challenges that need to be factored into current thinking and practice.

Ethical limits fracture as Chinese espionage intensifies

China’s espionage capability is now so extensive it’s hard to imagine its limits and Western companies and governments are becoming more willing participants.

This is not a drill: A cyberthreat reality check

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to find a security expert who doesn’t think that a major cyber-attack on Australia with potentially devastating consequences is inevitable at some point in the future.

Bringing to light what goes on in the shadows

Allegations of appalling behaviour by a small number of Australian special forces soldiers accused of killing unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan must be properly investigated but also raise questions about the overuse of special forces compared to infantry personnel.

Building a ‘brilliant’ Australian Defence Force

The potential applications of artificial intelligence in the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ will inevitably have important implications for the future of defence.

Australia and the shifting regional order

How should Australia deal with the rise of China? Our objective should be to shape a regional balance of power more favourable to our interests, recruiting new supporters to the coalition of powers that favours a stable, prosperous and liberal Asia.

China tightens its grip on the South China Sea

China continues to develop denial-of-access capabilities, while the United States is focussing on offensively oriented concepts to assert access. But these strategies only add to the security dilemma for both Washington and Beijing.

Comprehensive coercion: China’s ‘political warfare’ campaign against Australia

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington has released a new report, “Countering Comprehensive Coercion”, which explains how China has been conducting political warfare against Australia for more than a decade.

Australia’s real choice about China

Australia’s problem with China is bigger and simpler than we think, and thus harder to solve. The central issue is that China wants to replace the United States as the primary power in East Asia, and we don’t want that to happen.

Are we preparing to fight the wrong war?

Are we preparing to fight the wrong war? That’s the question being asked increasingly frequently by Australian defence planners, especially in the RAAF. What makes some people nervous are a number of emerging disruptive technologies that will have a profound effect on military operations in the very near future.

A ‘new normal’ in the South China Sea?

The United States and China have apparently reached a tacit agreement to avoid outright confrontation in the disputed South China Sea. Relations between ASEAN claimants and between ASEAN and China rest on a similar plateau but long term rapprochement remains a distant prospect.