Past events
‘Saving British face’: Operation Semut and the Borneo Campaign, 1945
Operation Semut, a secret operation launched by Special Operations Australia (SOA) into Sarawak in March 1945, was ostensibly to support the impending Australian landings at Labuan and around...
ANZUS and Taiwan: What are Australia’s obligations?
The likelihood of another Taiwan Strait crisis is increasing. Some argue that if the U.S. chose to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack, then Australia would be obliged—under the ANZUS alliance—...
Alliances, Nuclear Weapons and Escalation
As great power competition intensifies, the role of deterrence and the potential for escalation have taken on renewed importance in the security calculations of Australia and other US allies. How...
The Taiwan Choice: Showdown in Asia
If Asia’s key flashpoint erupts, what will Australia do? The decision could reshape our future in Asia.
“If America goes to war with China over Taiwan, Washington will expect Australia to...
Not your parents' Cold War: Why this time is different and more dangerous
It is only natural that we see the ‘new Cold War’ through the lens of the old one. But how far is the new Cold War against China like the old one against the Soviet Union?
Today’s policies...
Inside the mind of war: The logic of John Boyd
Colonel John Boyd (1927-1997), a maverick fighter pilot, revolutionised the art of war through his ideas on conflict, the human mind and manoeuvre warfare theory. His ideas triggered a revolution...
Australia-Japan dialogue on strategic trends in the Indo-Pacific
With COVID restrictions slowly easing, the Australian Member Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (AusCSCAP) is holding its 23rd meeting as a hybrid event. In-...
Partners in deterrence: US nuclear weapons and alliances in Europe and Asia
Since the dawn of the atomic age, nuclear weapons have been central to the internal dynamics of US alliances in Europe and Asia. But nuclear weapons cooperation in US alliances has varied...
Guardians of the Nation? The Indonesian military’s collective memory of defeat in East Timor
For the Indonesian military, the independence of East Timor in 1999 represented the end of twenty-three years of seemingly futile efforts to integrate the province into the Republic of Indonesia...
Cultures of crisis: How the Asia-Pacific can lead global peace and security
The Asia Pacific is predicted to have the greatest proportion of people already exposed and vulnerable to concurrent extreme weather events and the intensification of climate change-related...
