Australian Defence Force

As warfare changes, so does Australian strategy
As warfare changes, so does Australian strategy
The Australian Defence Minister launched a new National Defence Strategy last week. It is accompanied by a revised Defence Integrated Investment Program (at the same link)…
A “climate defence force” for the Pacific
A “climate defence force” for the Pacific
During the summer political slumber, Australian Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh indicated that Canberra was considering permitting recruitment from Pacific Island Countries …
Economic diplomacy: Strategic funding comes in from the cold
Economic diplomacy: Strategic funding comes in from the cold
Soft dollars While the multiples of defence to aid and intelligence to diplomacy spending have received a lot of attention in recent years as they have relentlessly widened,…
Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines
Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines
Book review: How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner (Penguin Random House, 2023) We don’t need to look at detailed statistics to know that large-scale…
AUKUS: A debate after the fact is still worth having
AUKUS: A debate after the fact is still worth having
Book review: The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace (La Trobe University Press, 2023) When Robert Menzies announced his retirement in January 1966,…
ASEAN maritime security and what next week’s navy exercises mean
ASEAN maritime security and what next week’s navy exercises mean
Next week, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will commence joint military exercises, officially called ASEAN Solidarity Exercise Natuna (ASEX 01–Natuna),…
Danger Will Robinson: Warfighting robots fast approaching
Danger Will Robinson: Warfighting robots fast approaching
Ernest Hemingway famously wrote bankruptcies happen “gradually, then suddenly”. Given two events last week, this might also succinctly describe the rise of robot warfighting. A…
The Philippines and Australia: A new golden era of strategic relations?
The Philippines and Australia: A new golden era of strategic relations?
Just months into office, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles visited Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he made it absolutely clear that…
The social licence for AUKUS has not yet been earned
The social licence for AUKUS has not yet been earned
The Australian Labor Party is firmly committed to the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines, at least according to the unopposed motion passed at last week’s ALP National Conference…
The case for opening the ADF to citizens of Pacific Islands nations
The case for opening the ADF to citizens of Pacific Islands nations
Other than times of extreme crisis, (e.g., the Second World War), neither Australia or the surrounding South Pacific region has been threatened with military coercion. But with…