Policy, Guns and Money: Taiwan, climate change and the cost of defence

Recently, national security debates in the United States and Australia have been heavily focused on the possibility of conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Strategist’s Anastasia Kapetas is joined by Ryan Hass, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, to discuss the credibility of this narrative. They talk about the likelihood of conflict over Taiwan and how Taiwan can counter China’s actions.

Robert Glasser, head of ASPI’s Climate and Security Policy Centre, is joined by Natasha Kassam, director of the public opinion and foreign policy program at the Lowy Institute, to discuss the 2021 release of Lowy’s annual climate poll, which gauges Australians’ attitudes to climate change.

ASPI’s annual Cost of defence report breaks down the funding and expenditure of the Department of Defence, examining key areas of growth, acquisition spending and investment. Report author Marcus Hellyer discusses some of the trends highlighted in this year’s report with Peter Jennings, and the increasing financial concern around Defence’s external workforce.