This Month
- Opinion
- AUKUS
There is no catastrophic failure of AUKUS Plan A
The “optimal pathway” may not run exactly to plan, but the risk is known, is being managed, and all three partners have demonstrated their commitment to the process.
- Jennifer Parker
- Analysis
- AUKUS
AUKUS future is resting on belief alone
Defence and government figures brim with confidence over Australia’s nuclear submarine program, but there’s no Plan B and – to some – there’s an air of desperation.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- AUKUS
AUKUS ‘moonshot’ may be a tragically expensive failure
It is alarming that both Coalition and Labor politicians fail to acknowledge the risk that Australia could be left with no submarine capability by the end of the 2030s.
- James Curran
- Exclusive
- AUKUS
‘A cruel joke’: Why AUKUS might leave Australia stranded
A group of defence experts says that the Albanese government is on course for a financial and strategic AUKUS disaster, in the final part of an exclusive series.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- The AFR View
On AUKUS, Australia must catch up, not start again – yet again
Australia’s political, diplomatic and defence chiefs need to work with AUKUS counterparts in America and Britain to find a way through the gridlock.
- The AFR View
- Investigation
- AUKUS
Morrison’s ‘longest night’: Inside the making of AUKUS
The military agreement is a mess and risks leaving Australia with no submarine capability at all by the late 2030s. The cloak of secrecy that secured the deal could now be its undoing.
- James Curran
June
- Opinion
- UK
Will Keir Starmer go wobbly on AUKUS?
The fantasy of a post-Brexit “global Britain” is gone, but British Labour says it will be everywhere around the world, and all at once.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- China relations
We must consider imposing non-military costs on China
We are failing to deter China from committing increasingly frequent acts of aggression and intimidation against Taiwan.
- John Lee
- Opinion
- Investing
A stock trader’s guide to navigating the French election
The prospect of a change in the balance of power in France has investors on edge. These are the sectors most affected by the coming political upheaval.
- Sagarika Jaisinghani, Verena Sepp and Julien Ponthus
- Opinion
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
What Israel’s ultra-orthodox draft means for Netanyahu
The Israeli Prime Minister relies on the support of minority parties to hold on to power. The court ruling has put some of them offside.
- Melanie Lidman
- Opinion
- China relations
Why Dutton is flying in the face of the China hawks
As the opposition leader’s rhetoric softens dramatically, the days of turning China into an election wedge appear to be over.
- James Laurenceson
- Analysis
- WikiLeaks
Julian Assange never accepted the ethics of journalism
Drawing support from the far left and right, the Wikileaks founder was more international political actor than reporter.
- Aaron Patrick
- Opinion
- South China Sea
Why South China Sea is the flashpoint that could spark war
The worry for Australia is that rather than Taiwan, the worsening situation in the seas east of Asia is more likely to entangle it in a great power conflict.
- Bec Strating
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Japan’s LNG diplomacy is in Australia’s national interest
Any move to curb LNG exports that undermine Australia’s reputation would not just threaten new gas projects but damage Australia’s green superpower hopes.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Putin's Russia
Putin to Xi: I have options in East Asia
The Russian President’s visits last week to North Korea and Vietnam shows Russia’s residual capacity to stir trouble in East Asia.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- China relations
Why Australia needs to stop being PNG’s payday lender
It might seem a good, neighbourly thing to do. But loans can be damaging as poorly tied aid. The alternative is subsidising direct Australian business investment.
- Carolyn Blacklock
- Opinion
- Royal Australian Navy
Time to promote a woman as deputy chief of Navy
The officer second in charge of the Royal Australian Navy will shortly rotate, opening the way for a historic first appointment of a female.
- Jennifer Parker
- Opinion
- China relations
Li’s visit may be as good as it gets for China ties
Dialogue is vital. But the reality for Labor’s “stabilisation” is that the strategic environment will continue to breed black swans and black elephants crises in the Sino-Australian relationship.
- Rory Medcalf
- Opinion
- China relations
Albanese elevates diplomacy over the drum beat of war
Few can doubt the success of ‘stabilisation’ for the Australia-China relationship, but how might it work when applied to the region?
- Updated
- James Curran
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Albanese ‘renews and revitalises’ ties with a very different China
It remains in Australia’s national interest to deepen both economic and diplomatic ties with our major trade partner, and continue to welcome China’s rise behind a rules-based order.
- The AFR View