Peter Jennings

Peter Jennings is director of Strategic Analysis Australia and was executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012 to 2022. He is a former deputy secretary for strategy in the Defence Department (2009-12).

Latest

commentaryCommentary

US President Joe Biden speaks during remarks on the implementation of the American Rescue Plan in the State Dining room of the White House in Washington, DC on March 15, 2021. (Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP)

US brings weight to Quad as China airs contempt

The risk of a slide into conflict is clearly playing on the Prime Minister’s mind.

Peter Jennings

Commentary

(FILES) This file US Navy photo shows the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)as it is moored pier side at Naval Base Guam on May 15, 2020. - A US aircraft carrier group sailed into the South China Sea on a so-called "freedom of navigation" exercise, the first routine operation in the region under new President Joe Biden. Led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the carrier strike group entered the area on January 23, 2021, the US Indo-Pacific Command said, the same day Taiwan reported multiple Chinese jets and bombers had flown into its air defense zone. (Photo by Conner D. BLAKE / US NAVY / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /US NAVY/CONNER D. BLAKE/HANDOUT " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

We must be ready to fight our corner as tensions rise

Whatever Joe Biden does about Taiwan, he will expect Japan and Australia to be there.

Peter Jennings

COMMENTARYCommentary

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - JANUARY 08: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden delivers remarks after he announced cabinet nominees that will round out his economic team, including secretaries of commerce and labor, at The Queen theater on January 08, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden announced he is nominating Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo as his commerce secretary, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh his labor secretary and Isabel Guzman, a former Obama administration official, as head of the Small Business Administration. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

PM can act swiftly to help shape US policy

No global leader is better placed than Scott Morrison to shape a more activist US engagement in the Indo-Pacific.

Peter Jennings

CommentaryCommentary

Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen Gate during a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing Thursday Sept. 3, 2015. REUTERS/Andy Wong/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

China’s military build-up outpaces US

Xi Jinping is shaping to make the People’s Liberation Army his primary vehicle for driving the party’s strategic aims this year.

Peter Jennings

CommentaryCommentary

BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 20: Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army's Honour Guard Battalion wear protective masks as they stand at attention in front of photo of China's president Xi Jinping at their barracks outside the Forbidden City, near Tiananmen Square, on May 20, 2020 in Beijing, China. China's government will open its annual weeklong meetings known as the 'two sessions' at the Great Hall of the People on May 21st. They were delayed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After decades of growth, officials recently said China's economy had shrunk in the latest quarter due to the impact of the coronavirus epidemic. The slump in the worlds second largest economy is regarded as a sign of difficult times ahead for the global economy. While industrial sectors in China are showing signs of reviving production, a majority of private companies are operating at only 50% capacity, according to analysts. With the pandemic hitting hard across the world, officially the number of coronavirus cases in China is dwindling, ever since the government imposed sweeping measures to keep the disease from spreading. Officials believe the worst appears to be over in China, though there are concerns of another wave of infections as the government attempts to reboot the worlds second largest economy. Since January, China has recorded more than 82,000 cases of COVID-19 and at least 4000 deaths, mostly in and around the city of Wuhan, in central Hubei province, where the outbreak first started. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

2021: The year of the wolf warrior at our door

China will keep punishing Australia in 2021 and Beijing clearly thinks it has a window of opportunity to advance its military control in the region.

Peter Jennings

COMMENTARYExclusives

Drew Pavlou, University of Queensland students protest against the uni's China-aligned Confucius Institute, St Lucia. Picture: Liam Kidston.

On China, we’ve sold ourselves out

Communist China, a repressive regime with diametrically opposed strategic objectives, now dominates our research horizons.

Peter Jennings

SHAPING STRATEGYExclusives

This US Navy photo released April 29, 2020 shows The Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) conducting underway operations on April 28, 2020 in the South China Sea. - Barry is forward-deployed to the US 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. A US Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed through waters near the Paracel islands in the South China Sea challenging China's claim to the area, the Navy said April 29, 2020. The USS Barry undertook the so-called "freedom of navigation operation" on Tuesday, a week after Beijing upped its claims to the region by designating an official administrative district for the islands. (Photo by Samuel HARDGROVE / US NAVY / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO US NAVY/SAMUEL HARDGROVE/HANDOUT " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

How to fight back against Beijing

Australia has a chance to shape Joe Biden’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific to secure a major increase in US military power in the region.

Peter Jennings

COMMENTARYCommentary

(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 21, 2020 People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers march next to the entrance to the Forbidden City during the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing. - The Chinese military is pressing to double its 200-plus nuclear warheads within a decade with the ability to launch them aboard ballistic missiles by land, sea and air, the Pentagon said in a report September 1, 2020. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP)

Stronger military links with US part of China solution

Decades of diplomatic nuance in our China relationship have delivered nothing. Our biggest strategic challenge is to do everything we can to keep the US active in the Indo-Pacific.

Peter Jennings

inquirerInquirer

Defence Supplied Pics. Special Operations Task Group soldiers make their way to a waiting UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after a Shura in Sha Wali Kot.Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) partnered with Australian Special Forces from the Special Operations Task Group conducted a deliberate operation to clear a Taliban insurgent stronghold in the Shah Wali Kot region of northern Kandahar province.The Shah Wali Kot Offensive comprised synchronised and deliberate clearance operations involving Australian Commandos combined with a number of surgical helicopter-born assaults from Special Air Service (SAS) troops on key targets.Removing Taliban insurgents from Afghan communities allows the Government of Afghanistan to establish a presence and gain the trust of the community to provide them with necessary infrastructure and security that was not provided by the insurgents.

The dark stories of war we must hear

Our campaign in Afghanistan was bloody, visceral and left damaged bodies and minds in its wake. Few of us wanted to know about it.

Peter Jennings

inquirerInquirer

Australian Army soldiers from 2nd Commando Regiment board a 6th Aviation Regiment UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Townsville during a training activity as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019. *** Local Caption *** Special operations members from the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Federal Police Crime Scene Investigators trained together during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019 (TS19), developing interoperability whilst conducting special forces missions throughout North Queensland. TS19 is a bilateral combined Australian and United States (US) training activity. TS19 is designed to practice our respective military services and associated agencies in planning and conducting Combined and Joint Task Force operations, and improve the combat readiness and interoperability between Australian and US forces. TS19 will be the eighth iteration of the exercise and consists of a Field Training Exercise incorporating force preparation (logistic) activities, amphibious landings, land force manoeuvre, urban operations, air operations, maritime operations and Special Forces activities.

Alliance safe, but real danger lies ahead

As Scott Morrison prepares Australia for terrible news, our focus needs to stay locked on to the emerging situation in the Indo-Pacific.

Peter Jennings

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/peter-jennings/page/15