December 2023
‘Our region is first priority’: still no answer on ships to Red Sea
The longer the delay, the more likely the answer to a US request for navy assistance in the Red Sea will be “thanks, but no thanks”, a top defence analyst says.
September 2023
Tough choices loom as AUKUS uncertainty grows
The right, figures in the Labor Party and a leading strategic analyst are questioning the alliance’s political and defence viability as the Trump factor looms larger.
July 2022
Australia’s odd couple must repair frayed ties with Beijing
Two very different South Australian politicians have taken charge of relations with China which, while thawing, remain fraught.
February 2022
The Taiwan question: when will Xi make his move?
The Russia-Ukraine crisis has experts alarmed at the scale of China’s ambitions to control Taiwan, writes Michael Smith in Tokyo.
August 2021
US report reignites China propaganda war on virus origins
China is stepping up a campaign to deflect theories that COVID-19 came from a lab in Wuhan by suggesting the pandemic started on US soil.
February 2021
Australia funds tungsten mine to break China’s grip
Tasmania has provided $10 million to reopen a tungsten mine, with talks under way to secure federal funding in another step to break China’s near monopoly on critical defence-related materials.
January 2021
Stakes over Taiwan couldn’t be higher
Joe Biden would face the most agonising of choices if China moves against the disputed island. And so would Australia.
December 2020
A year like no other: the horror and courage of Australia in 2020
A bushfire calamity, the pandemic and China's undeclared economic war have made for an unprecedented year. But lessons have been learned.
November 2020
Whoever wins, Australia can't rely on its great and powerful friend
Donald Trump has done little to counter China, and Joe Biden would do no better. Australia must therefore face up to a future of fading US power in our region.
October 2020
When the global struggle becomes our local worry
A change of occupant in the White House does not change America's problem with China - or Australia's excruciating political choices in the matter.
August 2020
A hard history lesson in real time
As Australia marks the anniversary of the Allies' victory in the Pacific War, Canberra is grappling with another great power shift in the region.
May 2020
'Wolf Warrior China' leads to ominous policy split
There is fierce agreement on the need for an inquiry into the origins of the pandemic and even more fierce disagreement about the best way to go about it.
March 2020
Government cutting military spending 'by stealth'
Despite a promised military build-up, Defence has underspent its capital budget for new equipment by $6 billion since 2016.
February 2020
The think tank behind Australia's changing view of China
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has played a central role in the breakdown of consensus on Beijing. Its critics accuse it of fomenting hysteria.
August 2019
'Security trumps prosperity': Australia will choose US over China
One of America's most provocative thinkers on geopolitics is going to deliver a strong message for Australia next week – one that some policymakers and business executives might not want to hear.
July 2019
Australia spends more than $100m a day on defence. Is it enough?
The price tag for defending Australia is currently just under $40 billion a year but Hugh White argues in a new book, that's not enough and we need a new strategy.