10 Jun 2025
What lies beneath: Trump and the security of subsea cables
To access the riches under the sea, the new US administration seeks dominance.
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29 May 2025
Australia-South Korea: The case for a new maritime focus
The naval relationship between the two nations has plateaued, but there's a way to regain momentum. -
5 May 2025
Undersea cable control: The information dimension
Historical lessons on how control of undersea communication networks offers advantage beyond mere disruption. -
29 Apr 2025
Kashmir and what’s next after the Pahalgam attack: How India’s partners could help in this crisis
Stepping up overflight surveillance in the Indian Ocean would be a good start. -
17 Apr 2025
China’s “spy ship” that wasn’t off the coast of Australia
Caught in a political storm, most claims about the mission of the Tan Suo Yi Hao don’t hold water. -
28 Mar 2025
Breaking Houthi resolve: Why Trump’s strikes won’t work any better than Biden’s
The “whack-a-mole” approach to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea needs a rethink – upstream, rather than down. -
25 Mar 2025
Awful but lawful: China's Australia flotilla
China wasn't making a legal point. This was a show of force. -
24 Mar 2025
Indonesia and Australia: Defence cooperation under Prabowo
For Australia, walking the talk will be critical to a sustainable strategic relationship that benefits both nations. -
19 Mar 2025
Australian defence and the nebulous “archipelago”
In the region to our north, the risks of playing out operational concepts on a map devoid of politics are manifold. -
17 Mar 2025
The Suez battles forces beyond its control
Not only rocket attacks but tariff threats, there is mounting uncertainty in global shipping. -
14 Mar 2025
Sunk costs: Pacific shipwrecks and the urgent call for the Nairobi Convention
An international accord to clean up shipwrecks and other waste from commerce on the high seas already exists. The region should get on board. -
13 Mar 2025
Singapore’s navy modernisation: Big on size but small on personnel
Grappling with the need to overcome constraints on the number of personnel available to crew warships and submarines. -
11 Mar 2025
Why Australia–India maritime ties matter
Strengthening cooperation in the Indo-Pacific will be good not just for the region but for global security and trade. -
6 Mar 2025
Should Australia rekindle its Merchant Navy?
From defended assets to arsenal ships, armed merchant vessels offer opportunities for Canberra. -
6 Sep 2024
Iran’s shadow hand in Houthi Red Sea attacks
How the Houthis and Iranians work together isn’t absolutely clear – but stopping the threat to shipping requires more than shooting down incoming missiles and extends to disrupting an intelligence and targeting system. -
17 Jul 2024
Moving beyond the grey zone: The case for ICAD
Why some Indo-Pacific nations are renaming the place between peace and war. -
12 Jul 2024
Testing the climate for AUKUS
The deterrence effects of nuclear-powered submarines are easily overstated, and the boats won’t fulfil Australia’s most pressing security needs in a changing environment. -
10 Jul 2024
Cable ties: Defending seabed lines of communication
Underwater vulnerabilities need to be far more prominent in the conversation. -
20 Jun 2024
Overcoming the deliberate legal ambiguity adopted by China’s coast guard
A new order is telling of Beijing’s selective and ongoing effort to undermine the law of the sea. -
19 Apr 2024
Girt by sea: Redrawing Australia’s mental map
A big part of the challenge is asking the hard questions – and a new book does just that. -
11 Apr 2024
ASEAN and the military applications of AI
While artificial intelligence can be used to magnify lethal force, it can also promote regional peace and stability. -
5 Apr 2024
What should Australia be doing about the South China Sea?
While Australia’s interests are clear, its contribution is ambiguous. -
2 Apr 2024
A wave of US trilaterals sends a clear message to China
Revamped security groupings led by Washington, including with Manila and Tokyo, are the new normal. -
27 Mar 2024
Mapping the oceans is the new front in the battle for influence in the Indian Ocean
Ruling the waves means first understanding what lies beneath. Enter the geopolitics of hydrography. -
26 Mar 2024
Should Japan expand its security partnerships in the Pacific?
Four reasons why rushing in may not be the answer. -
8 Feb 2024
Non-state actors and the phantom of asymmetry
The might of the US military no longer guarantees world order. There are new actors and new ecosystems in play. -
2 Feb 2024
A practical way for Australia to help in the western Indian Ocean
Expanding the rollout of a Quad maritime domain awareness initiative would be a boost to security – for the region, and Australia. -
29 Jan 2024
Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines
Construction lessons – from the Empire State to the Sydney Opera House – can inform Australia’s most pressing problems. -
14 Nov 2023
Japan’s new golden age in Southeast Asia
Tokyo’s recent geopolitical assertiveness cements its position as a regional security and economic powerhouse. -
14 Nov 2023
Australia needs to resource a merchant fleet
Virtually all Australia’s trade moves by sea, yet relies almost exclusively on foreign flagged and foreign owned vessels. -
28 Sep 2023
AUKUS: A debate after the fact is still worth having
Can Australia’s statecraft and alliances offer alternative security options in the Indo-Pacific? -
26 Sep 2023
ASEAN’s first joint military exercise
A pyrrhic military cooperation or building capability for future contingency? -
13 Sep 2023
Sea robbery in the Singapore Strait
A crucial global trade route is subject to a rash of petty crime, but the consequences aren’t so petty. -
4 Aug 2023
Archipelago angst: How Indonesia and the US differ on air routes over sea lanes
UNCLOS ambiguity, again. -
21 Mar 2023
Could Indonesia legally stop transit by nuclear-powered AUKUS subs?
International law includes passage rights for all vessels in archipelagic waters – during peace or wartime. -
30 Nov 2022
Australia–India: “Hands Across the Water”
Naval port visits send important signals and contribute to the thriving bilateral relationship. -
28 Sep 2022
Buying the wrong submarine
Being able to sink ships doesn’t end a war. Australia should consider ballistic nuclear missile subs as an alternative. -
25 Apr 2022
Not all maritime disputes are built the same
Resolving some of the South China Sea’s longest running issues needs a policy toolkit that is customised and diverse. -
15 Apr 2022
Taming troubled waters
Looking from Vietnam, multi-layer joint efforts to ensure maritime security are welcome in the South China Sea. -
13 Apr 2022
Law of the sea: A contested watershed ruling
The 2016 arbitral award on the South China Sea has changed the dynamics of maritime disputes. -
12 Apr 2022
China’s nine-dash line proves stranger than fiction
How Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea have crept imperceptibly into global popular culture. -
11 Apr 2022
Thinking outside the box on Southeast Asian maritime security
The pandemic brought about an observable increase in transnational crimes – smuggling, piracy and trafficking. -
8 Apr 2022
Shore thing: climate change and maritime security intrinsically linked
Rising sea levels in Southeast Asia and the Pacific mean collaboration on maritime order is essential. -
5 Apr 2022
Of maritime security and a rules-based order
All good in theory, but the operational logistics of multinational cooperation at sea will take more than narratives. -
31 Mar 2022
Order at sea: Southeast Asia’s maritime security
Regional capacity building and the maintenance of good order in its waters are vital for the region’s ongoing stability. -
21 Sep 2021
AUKUS and the CPTPP: It’s all about China
Security deterrence is only one factor in the new and fast-moving geostrategic environment of the Indo-Pacific. -
27 Aug 2021
Australia’s seaborne trade: Essential but undefendable
Recognising the limits to Australia’s military potential. -
16 Dec 2020
Russia and China team up on the Indian Ocean
The US and its allies may have military dominance in the region, but it’s no guarantee of influence. -
28 Oct 2020
Rebirth of the quadrilateral Malabar: Promises and portents for India
The inclusion of Australia in the 2020 Exercise Malabar signals India’s resolve to defend its interests in the region. -
19 May 2020
Diego Garcia: An American perspective
A bid by Mauritius to claim the Chagos Archipelago puts the future of the base in question. Does the US have an answer?