The world is back to being a dangerous place. In Europe, Russia is fighting a major war as it tries to capture Ukraine. In the Indo-Pacific, China is building a very large, high-technology, all-domain military force, some say to use very soon,...
AUSTRALIA is not now at war at home or abroad. Greens senator Lydia Thorpe insists Australia has been at war for 200 years, but she talks big and waves a small stick. Community division as Thorpe imagines is alien to the overwhelming majority of...
The obscene business which is war has many rules. Command responsibility, also now called the Yamashita Principle, is that obligation of all commanders to ensure their troops fight within those rules. Failure to do so is considered an omission mode of individual...
The Indo-Pacific is the busiest and most contested area in relation to international security, with multiple players, agendas, and interests. Australia’s interests in the region are driven by the recognition that great power politics are increasingly being played out...
RUSSIA’S Kerch bridge linking it with what most regard as unlawfully occupied Crimea was allegorical of the strengths and weaknesses of Australia’s strategic defences. The air-sea gap providing physical separation for continental Australia from southeast Asia and the...
Defence Minister Richard Marles said one incredibly important thing on Monday. It couldn’t be clearer and it bears repeating: “In a rational world, defence spending is a function of strategic threat. And we are rational people.” He also said the defence budget would...
Should Defence press ahead with its investments in next-generation land combat capability or is it time to reallocate resources elsewhere to reflect changes in modern warfighting? Last month, the Albanese government launched the Defence Strategic Review, touted...
Source: BEN PACKHAM The Australian Newspaper's Foreign Affairs & Defence Correspondent - September 13, 2022 Defence has avoided an inquiry into the accountability of senior commanders for war crimes despite the findings of an independent panel, which said it...
Professor Paul Dibb wrote the 1986 Review of Australia’s Defence Capabilities and was the primary author of the 1987 Defence White Paper Defending Australia. When announcing his Defence Strategic Review on August 3, Richard Marles stressed that the strategic changes...
An open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles Dear Anthony and Richard, Congratulations on your election win – majority government amid political fragmentation is no small achievement. I know you both care deeply about national...