Defence diplomacy in the Pacific

Rather than encouraging bilateralism, Australia’s defence diplomacy should advance an approach that bolsters cooperation and capacity to respond to security challenges under the auspices of regional institutions such as the Pacific Islands Forum.

Protecting Australia

Australia’s most senior military officer has warned that the nation faces complex and interwoven threats including high-end military capabilities, economic coercion, climate change and AI-driven dangers to democracy in a post-truth world.

Caught in the great divide

Pacific Islands Forum members will face challenging conversations about the prickly US-China relationship and its effect on the region in their meeting this week.

Road to nowhere?

The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting this week takes place amid a changing dynamic of security and development in the region.

Security in China’s shadow

Australia has implemented some effective responses to the challenges posed by China to its security. But Canberra still lacks an overarching China strategy, according to Euan Graham’s new book “Australia’s Security in China’s Shadow”.

Climate change is a security problem

While a feral Russia menaces Europe and China’s shadow falls over Asia, the looming threat of climate change imperils the whole world, and Australia must start viewing it as a national security issue.

Locking in Pacific security

The Pacific Island Forum should create a forum like the ASEAN Regional Forum to provide opportunities for Pacific states to collectively engage with partners on security matters.

We need AI – and AI needs humanising

Australia should harness expertise from both the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ sciences to code our humanity into the artificial intelligence being integrated into our defence services.

Supporting national security in the Pacific

Working with Pacific island countries’ national security strategies would ensure that Australia has a clear understanding of Pacific peace and security at the local and regional levels, both now and into the future.

Reframing security in a post-invasion world

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is part of a new era of ideological competition and great power confrontation that has uprooted the post-Cold War international order.

Cleared hot

Businesses looking to work on sensitive government projects often have to obtain standardised security clearances for their staff, but the need for security vetting now arguably extends well beyond government contracts.

Five by five

From the melting of the Greenland ice sheets to terrorist take-overs and cyber-security breaches, there’s always new things to worry about.