Skip to main content
The Interpreter

Interpreter - Menu Links

  • Articles
  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • About

Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 2 days ago
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • China's Military

    Location, location, location: Why Ream Naval Base is not the real estate China needed

    Rahman Yaacob
    Artificial islands in the South China Sea have more strategic value than a backwater base.
  • 17 Jul 2024
    • China
    • China's Military
    • South China Sea
    • Defence & Security
    • Maritime Security

    Moving beyond the grey zone: The case for ICAD

    Adam Lockyer , Yves-Heng Lim , Courtney J Fung
    Why some Indo-Pacific nations are renaming the place between peace and war.
  • 5 Apr 2024
    • China
    • China's Military
    • Philippines
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Maritime Security
    • United States
    • US Navy

    What should Australia be doing about the South China Sea?

    Susannah Patton
    While Australia’s interests are clear, its contribution is ambiguous.
  • 4 Dec 2023
    • Asean
    • China
    • China's Military
    • South China Sea
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australian Navy
    • Defence & Security
    • International law

    How to stop any repeat of the Australia-China sonar incident

    Collin Koh
    A regional deal to close a loophole relating to the use of sonar in international law could be a good place to start.
  • 20 Mar 2023
    • China
    • China's Military
    • Australia in the World
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Australian Navy
    • China-Australia Relations
    • Defence & Security

    Australia, China, AUKUS and the squandered advantage

    Sam Roggeveen
    Canberra appears to have overlooked the tyranny of distance as its chief asset in regional military deterrence.
  • 28 Sep 2022
    • China's Military
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Defence & Security
    • Maritime Security

    Buying the wrong submarine

    Peter Layton
    Being able to sink ships doesn’t end a war. Australia should consider ballistic nuclear missile subs as an alternative.
  • 19 Aug 2022
    • China
    • China's Government
    • China's Military
    • Taiwan
    • United States

    The social media spectacle of China’s Taiwan military exercises

    Manya Koetse
    The whole world’s a stage when it comes to promoting the power behind the “one China” narrative.
  • 9 Aug 2022
    • China
    • China's Government
    • China's Military
    • Taiwan
    • United States

    When serious, careful US management of China–Taiwan policies … isn’t

    John Culver
    The status quo in the Strait has changed. But is anyone really tuning in as the drama unfolds?
  • 5 Apr 2022
    • Maritime Security
    • China's Military
    • India's Navy
    • Australian Navy

    Of maritime security and a rules-based order

    Abhijit Singh
    All good in theory, but the operational logistics of multinational cooperation at sea will take more than narratives.
  • 17 Sep 2021
    • China's Military
    • China
    • Iran
    • Pakistan
    • Russia

    China – a lonely superpower

    Henry Storey
    Despite many countries having issues with the West, China has few obvious alliance candidates.
  • 30 Aug 2021
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Australian Defence Intelligence and Security
    • China's Military
    • Australia's Defence Challenges

    Sharpening deterrence

    Ben Scott
    The language around the who, what and how of Australia’s defence strategy needs an overhaul.
  • 27 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Maritime Security
    • China's Military
    • Australian Navy

    Australia’s seaborne trade: Essential but undefendable

    Hugh White
    Recognising the limits to Australia’s military potential.
  • 22 Jul 2021
    • Cyber Warfare
    • China-Japan Relations
    • China's Military
    • Intelligence and security
    • China-India Relations

    Bringing the grey zone into focus

    Peter Layton
    Australia must be ready for China’s next move in the volatile game of statecraft brinkmanship.
  • 27 Nov 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • China's Military
    • South China Sea
    • China

    Beijing’s line on the South China Sea: “Nothing to see here”

    Oriana Skylar Mastro
    China’s official denials of growing military capability in the region look a lot like gaslighting.
  • 25 Sep 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • China's Military
    • Australian Air Force

    The sharp sword: China and the drone threat to Australia

    Sam Roggeveen
    Combat drones could loiter over targets for hours longer than a crewed aircraft, posing a very different type of threat.
  • 2 Aug 2019
    • China's Military
    • China

    What China’s defence paper tells us about Beijing’s regional ambition

    Pooja Bhatt
    Threat perceptions dominate, as expected in a defence statement – but with wider goals to reshape security architecture.
  • 31 Jul 2019
    • China's Military
    • China

    China’s intelligence gathering ships change the equation

    James Goldrick
    If not quite a return to the Cold War, there are operational consequences to China’s increasing naval capabilities.
  • 25 Jul 2019
    • China's Military
    • China

    China’s head-spinning defence white paper

    Dennis J. Blasko
    The difference between how China sees the world and how the world sees China can lead to a seriously dizzying view.
  • 11 Feb 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • China's Military
    • India's Navy
    • India's Military
    • China
    • India

    China may only seek a limited naval role in the Indian Ocean

    David Brewster
    Many assume that China intends to replace American predominance in the Indian Ocean. But sea control seems unrealistic.
  • 11 Jul 2018
    • Asia
    • China's Military
    • China

    China’s expanding navy

    James Goldrick
    The PLA-N is growing rapidly, raising problems for personnel and the integration of new capabilities into the service.
  • 1 Jun 2018
    • China's Military
    • China

    Has the PLA really overlooked its amphibious force?

    Grant Newsham
    Taiwan would be well advised to improve its defences and make itself a tough nut to crack.
  • 30 Mar 2018
    • Asia
    • Defence & Security
    • China's Military
    • Asia Pacific Security
    • South China Sea
    • Asean
    • China
    • Vietnam

    Deterrence under the dragon’s shadow: Vietnam’s military modernisation

    Wu Shang-Su
    Vietnam has long sought to calibrate its defence posture in the shadows of great power competition.
  • 19 Feb 2018
    • Defence & Security
    • US Navy
    • China's Military

    China and the military balance

    Sam Roggeveen
    Is it only a matter of time before China replaces the US as the predominant military power in Asia?
  • 26 Oct 2017
    • China's Government
    • China's Military
    • China

    The 19th Party Congress: A more assertive Chinese foreign policy

    Bonnie S Glaser , Matthew P Funaiole
    President Xi Jinping's vision should raise alarm bells in Asian and Western capitals.
  • 10 Jul 2017
    • Defence & Security
    • China's Military

    Exercise Joint Sea 2017: A new step in Russo-Chinese naval cooperation?

    James Goldrick
    The upcoming China-Russia naval exercise suggests an emerging alignment on China’s behaviour in the South China Sea and Russia’s approach to security in the Baltic.
  • 4 Jul 2017
    • Defence & Security
    • China's Military

    China’s new warship and the strategic challenge to America

    James Goldrick
    The Type 055 is one component of the Chinese drive to create aircraft-carrier task forces which are capable of regional and even global operations.
  • 23 May 2017
    • China's Military
    • India's Navy
    • China
    • India

    Countering China’s submarine operations in South Asia

    Abhijit Singh
    If India does not move to protect its equities, South Asia could soon fall under the sway of China's rapidly expanding maritime power.
  • 7 Mar 2017
    • Defence & Security
    • China's Military

    China's defence spending: What's behind the slowdown?

    Jingdong Yuan
    Beijing will continue to spend as appropriate on its defence, but at a level that won’t cause too much alarm and can't be used in ‘China threat’ rhetoric.
  • 2 Nov 2016
    • Defence & Security
    • China's Military

    PLA Air Force unveils its pride and joy

    Sam Roggeveen
    Yesterday at the Zhuhai Air Show, China's air force officially unveiled its worst-kept secret, the J-20 stealth fighter.

Stay informed with the latest commentary and analysis on international events from experts at the Lowy Institute and around the world.

Register

The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute.

© Copyright 2024 Lowy Institute

  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • Articles
  • About
  • Terms of Use
  • Log In
  • My bookmarks