Since the AUKUS initiative was launched in September 2021, its Australian supporters and critics have been united on one point: that successive governments have failed to make a detailed strategic case for why Australia needs to acquire eight nuclear-powered submarines for its navy. No prime...
AUKUS is the great polariser of Australia’s national security community. Supporters are accused of risking too much for one capability; critics are accused of being unhelpful or lacking belief in Australia. All this misses the point. We have about 1,000 days before a possible conflict breaks out...
The waters of the Indian Ocean lap on the shores of Western Australia all the way across to Africa. But how far Australia’s defence and foreign policy interests extend into this vast watery expanse is a live debate. The “Indo-Pacific”, at least as Australia conceives this area, drives a...
In the “differ where we must” dimension of dealing with China, Australia is wielding a new nomenclature stick (or schtick?). Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles talks about the “West Philippine Sea”, not just the “South China Sea”. Kicking away some of the dashes in China’s...
As part of the original crew of HMAS Anzac, I was sad to see the ship decommissioned last month after almost 30 years’ service. The retirement of this warship inevitably sparked discussions about a potential “capability gap” in the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combatant fleet, especially in...
It looks like the United States has changed Australia’s mind. In April, the Australians doubted private shipbuilder Austal could be sold to South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, but now they have no concerns. The most likely explanation is that Australia at first worried about what the US would think but...
Australia’s planned acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines is undoubtedly ambitious and risky, but the frequent negativity among Australian commentators is detached from the reality of the success to date of the plan’s progress and the wider strategic reasons for the project. More than a year...
For most of the past decade, Australia’s six Collins-class submarines have provided the nation with a fine underwater warfare capability. As the Collins-class is designed to meet operational requirements beyond the capabilities of other conventional submarines, the government of the day has been...
During the Cold War, it was not unheard of for Soviet ships to attempt to disrupt US naval operations by “shouldering” vessels, meaning coming abreast and colliding in a semi-controlled manner. A famous example is the Black Sea incident of 1988, when Soviet frigates “bumped” both USS Yorktown and...
Australia’s late entry into the offshore wind market is a welcome development for clean energy advocates. The federal government this month issued what it has called the first round of feasibility licenses to six companies to explore offshore wind farm projects off the coast of Victoria. Yet amid...