The shift to second-hand Virginia-class submarines exposes the deeper flaw in AUKUS: Australia is committing vast public funds to a capability designed around US strategic priorities rather than Australia’s own defence needs.
Category: Defence
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Second-hand submarines: a sovereign flaw
The decision to acquire three secondhand Virginia-class submarines resolves a major fleet standardisation issue, but it also deepens Australia’s dependence on US industrial capacity, British delivery schedules and political decisions beyond its control.
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Middle-power diplomacy
How effectively middle powers can work together to sustain a rules-based order will depend on how they manage their different relations with the US, China and Russia. (more…)
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Our intelligence services need to break free from excessive US influence
Australia is part of the white man’s intelligence network, Five Eyes. That means too much CIA input into anti-China perceptions in recent years. It also helped bring down the Whitlam government. (more…)
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Lifting the secrecy around plans to censor journalists
Australian officials have been briefed by Britain’s Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee about ‘D-Notices’. These are ‘advisory orders’ to the media on what the committee considers should not be published in relation to British military and intelligence operations.
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Is Australia America’s 51st state in Asia?
Both Labor and the Coalition are deepening Australia’s alignment with the United States, even as doubts grow about AUKUS, the rules-based order and the risks of being drawn into a US-China conflict. (more…)
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Australia’s naval defence without AUKUS pillar one
The AUKUS nuclear submarines are not going to be delivered on time and may never arrive. Delaying the decision for a better alternative risks Australia’s future submarine capability. (more…)
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The BYD ‘spy car’ narrative misses Australia’s real transport risk
Australian politicians, in the reasonable pursuit of fleet efficiency, have approved Chinese-made EVs for ministerial use. According to a Sky News commentator, however, these cars are not merely transport, they are “rolling microphones”. In fact, they are the vehicles that will keep moving when the next fuel shock arrives. (more…)
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Australia’s resilience is inseparable from Asia
Australia is anchored in Asia, yet elements of our defence posture continue to assume a different centre of gravity. This makes it difficult to reconcile long-term strategic planning with the region Australia relies on for its economic security and wellbeing. (more…)
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Nuclear disarmament is stalling – and the risks are growing
As global tensions rise, nuclear-armed states are failing to meet their disarmament obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, while recent conflicts risk accelerating proliferation. (more…)
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Contracting strategy to think tanks: catering to America’s fantasies of even more war
US think tanks play a central role in shaping military strategy and future conflicts, embedding a long-standing logic of war that allies are expected to support.
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Recapturing the decency dimension of Australian foreign policy
In the latest of our Foreign Policy Rethink series, Gareth Evans argues that Australia’s foreign policy must give greater weight to being, and being seen as, a good international citizen. (more…)
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Australia’s foreign policy needs renovation, not demolition
In the latest of our Foreign Policy Rethink series, Peter Varghese outlines how alliance, region and multilateralism must be recalibrated for a more contested and uncertain global order. (more…)
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Australia and Japan need a new compact for comprehensive security
The Australia–Japan relationship is critical to energy, economic and regional security, and must be strengthened to respond to a more fragmented and uncertain global order. (more…)
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ANZAC Day: remembering the past, facing the present
ANZAC Day honours service and sacrifice, but its deeper meaning lies in recognising the human cost of war and the responsibility to learn from it. (more…)
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Geography doesn’t change, but minds can
In the latest in our Foreign Policy Rethink series, Mark Beeson takes a look at Australia’s long-standing alignment with the United States and argues it is increasingly out of step with shifting global realities and regional dynamics. (more…)
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Labor’s foreign policy no longer matches the world it faces
In the second on our Rethinking Foreign Policy series Kym Davey says Labor’s foreign policy platform is out of step with current realities – clinging to US alliance settings while ignoring its own commitment to self-reliance and the opportunities of the Asia-Pacific. (more…)
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New detection tech could make AUKUS submarines obsolete
Chinese researchers have developed a new gravity-based detector that could be used to find submarines and render the proposed AUKUS submarine redundant. (more…)
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Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US
P&I today begins a major new series – rethinking Australia’s foreign policy. The United States is becoming more erratic and less reliable, and Australia must respond by insulating itself – strengthening regional ties, rethinking defence settings, and reducing strategic dependence, according to John Menadue.
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AUKUS and the sunk cost trap beneath the surface
As warfare shifts decisively toward autonomous and distributed systems, Australia’s massive investment in nuclear submarines risks locking in a costly and inflexible strategy. (more…)
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Ben Roberts‑Smith is accused of five war crime murder charges. How did we get here?
The charging of Ben Roberts-Smith marks a significant moment in Australia’s war crimes investigations, highlighting both legal obligations and the challenges of accountability. (more…)
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The world is drifting towards a new nuclear arms race
With arms control agreements collapsing and arsenals expanding, the risk of nuclear war – deliberate or accidental – is rising in a fragile global environment.
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The legal logic behind Israel and Iran’s nuclear divide
The difference between Israel and Iran on nuclear weapons is not a legal contradiction – but a result of how international law is structured around state consent.
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Iran’s target list: taking the war to multinationals
Major corporations are increasingly entangled in modern warfare, blurring the line between civilian infrastructure and military targets.
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Does Iran already have a nuclear deterrent?
Iran may already have the materials and delivery systems to deter a nuclear strike – raising the stakes in an escalating conflict. (more…)
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Crippling or buttressing Iran’s nuclear ambition – Part 2
In a new three-part series, Ramesh Thakur examines dimensions of the Iran war. In part two, he analyses how the US-Israeli war may affect Iran’s nuclear capacity and ambitions.
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The lies that fuel war
The Albanese government’s support for the US–Israel war on Iran rests on claims about nuclear threat, humanitarian intent and non-involvement that do not withstand scrutiny.
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Australia’s dangerous blind spot in Southeast Asia
In this excerpt from his Quarterly Essay, Michael Wesley argues Australia has misread a changing world – clinging to old assumptions, over-relying on the US alliance, and overlooking the growing strategic importance of Southeast Asia.
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Australia’s six pathways to the war with Iran: Part 2
From military bases to diplomacy and defence manufacturing, Australia’s long-standing ties are drawing it further into the US–Israel war on Iran. (more…)
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Australia’s six pathways to the war with Iran: Part 1
Australia is already deeply involved in the US–Israel war on Iran, through intelligence, military deployments and long-standing strategic commitments. (more…)