Maritime Security
Australia needs to resource a merchant fleet
On Friday, DP World Australia, the company operating container terminals at four of Australia’s largest ports, was brought to its knees by a cyber-attack. The impact on the flow…
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’s first joint military exercise
The first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) joint military exercise, code-named ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023 (ASEX 2023), has just ended. Hosted by Indonesia from…
Sea robbery in the Singapore Strait
Since the beginning of 2023, sea robbery in the Singapore Strait has increased at an alarming rate. The 113-km long, 19-km wide strait that connects the Indian Ocean with the…
Archipelago angst: How Indonesia and the US differ on air routes over sea lanes
A few weeks ago, Indonesia’s armed forces chief Admiral Yudo Margono revealed interesting data about the countries said to have violated Indonesian airspace. The highest number of…
Could Indonesia legally stop transit by nuclear-powered AUKUS subs?
Indonesia, a nation that controls vital maritime chokepoints, finds itself at the epicentre of an unfolding geopolitical drama. As rivalry builds between the United States and…
Australia–India: “Hands Across the Water”
When India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar addressed the Lowy Institute in Sydney last month, it was significant for two reasons. It was his second trip to Australia…
Buying the wrong submarine
Nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) are technically incredible. They are akin to the Australian Navy’s conventionally powered Collins Class submarines but much faster, much…
Not all maritime disputes are built the same
Maritime disputes in Southeast Asia should be viewed less as a single big basket of problems, and more as smaller individual problems with their own corresponding solutions. There…
Taming troubled waters
While regional countries respond to Covid-19 and the many social and economic consequences, ensuring peace and stability in the South China Sea has become even more important due…