Australian Defence Force

Regional security depends on making order from chaos
Commentary
Regional security depends on making order from chaos
Originally published in The Australian.
A high-risk, low-reward defence posture
A high-risk, low-reward defence posture
For all the commentary generated by the release of the Defence Strategic Update and Force Structure Plan, which outline Australia’s defence policy and capability priorities for…
Emerging from COVID: Policy Responses to the Pandemic
Policy Briefs
Emerging from COVID: Policy Responses to the Pandemic
Lowy Institute experts provide policy recommendations for Australia to address issues that are critical to our nation's — and the world's — successful emergence from the pandemic.
Taiwan Flashpoint: What Australia Can Do to Stop the Coming Taiwan Crisis
Policy Briefs
Taiwan Flashpoint: What Australia Can Do to Stop the Coming Taiwan Crisis
Australian diplomacy could ease rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait, if Australian policymakers rediscovered an appetite for involvement in the flashpoint.
Being one of the boys in the military
Being one of the boys in the military
The ruling this week by the Indian Supreme Court that allowed women to command troops in India’s armed forces comes as the latest in a series of gender reforms in democratic…
Australia’s new strategic geography
Australia’s new strategic geography
Australia’s strategic geography is not what it used to be. Technology has made the “sea-air gap”, an artefact treasured since the 1980s by a generation of Australian strategic…
Australian civil-military relations: Who guards the guardians?
Australian civil-military relations: Who guards the guardians?
Early on in my military career, I was told under no uncertain terms that the Australian Defence Force was not a benevolent society. True words, but difficult to accept. The…
Australia’s F-35s: Lessons from a problematic purchase
Australia’s F-35s: Lessons from a problematic purchase
In a startling statement reported this month, two recent Air Force chiefs assert Australia has made some grave force structure errors. It seems the RAAF needs a new bomber, as the…
INTERFET and the defence of Australia
INTERFET and the defence of Australia
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the International Force East Timor (INTERFET), a multinational mission led by Australia to stabilise the country in 1999…
You can’t always get what you want, but you can get what you need
You can’t always get what you want, but you can get what you need
Last month, during an Indo-Pacific defence conference held in Perth, former Australian defence minister Kim Beazley and present Chief of the Australian Defence Force General Angus…