One feature of the Australian government’s 2017 foreign policy white paper was the balance struck between tough talk on China’s challenge to US hegemony in Asia and the message that regional military modernisation posed no …
Sea state Last week, the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation near the Paracel Islands to challenge China’s ‘excessive maritime claims’ in the South China Sea. Guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale and oiler USNS …
Sea state Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated further as Russian special forces attacked and seized two Ukrainian gun boats and a tug off the coast of Crimea. A few days earlier, a Russian …
Given that our relative wealth and strategic position in the region are diminishing, the aptly named ‘Asian century’ brings with it a challenge: Australia needs to get real, seriously real, on defence spending, especially in …
The recent close encounter between USS Decatur and the Chinese Luyang II–class guided-missile destroyer Lanzhou has attracted much attention in the media. There’s little doubt that the Chinese ship created a dangerous situation in breach …
The world In the US, all eyes were on the hearings on sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The BBC provides a quick overview of the case. The New Yorker explains why …
Sea state The Chinese government refused a port call request by USS Wasp in Hong Kong amid escalating tension between the two countries. The decision follows the cancellation of two high-level trade and military meetings …
Sea state The British amphibious vessel HMS Albion became involved in a minor confrontation with a Chinese frigate and two PLAN helicopters near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea late last month. China …
Sea state The Indian navy secretly test-fired its first indigenous nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from INS Arihant in the Bay of Bengal on 11–12 August. The B-05 missile can hit targets with nuclear warheads …
In part 1, I considered the implications of sustaining and upgrading the RAAF’s F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet (alongside the E/A-18G Growler) as an alternative to buying an additional squadron of F-35s. It’s the next big …
Australia’s deteriorating security outlook, and what it means for our strategic relationships and our defence planning, has been a hot topic of late. Two key articles, by Paul Dibb and Peter Jennings, highlight the growing …
Sea state The multinational Rim of the Pacific Exercise concluded this week with an amphibious landing trial. The US was supposed to participate, but was sidelined when two of its biggest warships, USS Bonhomme Richard …