17 Jul 2024
A second suitable piece of real estate
The geostrategic significance of revamped submarine facilities off the WA coast echoes its utility from 80 years back.
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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. -
26 Jun 2024
The case for AUKUS you should read – even if not yet the explanation we need
A Labor backbencher sets out the challenges Australia faces from China and a rationale for nuclear-powered submarines. -
25 Jun 2024
Ten reasons why Trump will support AUKUS
AUKUS will survive regardless of who wins the presidential election in November. -
3 Jun 2024
Clarity needed on a “capability gap”
Counting warships is only one measure of deterrence. An integrated force will be more lethal and that carries a cost. -
13 May 2024
The cause for China’s coercion in the skies may lay under the water
Better to understand now why Australia might be targeted rather than in the aftermath of a fatal incident. -
4 Mar 2024
After ambition, implementation: How Australia builds its new navy
The ambition of the RAN’s plans will leave many sceptical. The government must take charge. -
1 Mar 2024
Australia's new navy: The Japanese option
Japan and Australia have similar security strategies, so why not the same ships? -
27 Feb 2024
AUKUS is a Trump-style deal
He rebels against the language of a “rules-based order” but he is happy to talk business. -
16 Feb 2024
The right lessons for Australia’s future warships
The war in Ukraine appears to be a revolution in naval warfare. Australia’s upcoming Surface Fleet Review must reflect on the consequences. -
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. -
4 Dec 2023
How to stop any repeat of the Australia-China sonar incident
A regional deal to close a loophole relating to the use of sonar in international law could be a good place to start. -
18 Nov 2023
China’s sonar pulse poses another test of Australia’s will
Even with international law on its side, Australia is still grappling with the conundrum of whether might makes right. -
14 Sep 2023
ASEAN maritime security and what next week’s navy exercises mean
Australia’s experience and reputation can support Southeast Asia’s aim of multipolarity. And it doesn’t need to be flashy. -
25 Aug 2023
The social licence for AUKUS has not yet been earned
Convincing Australians that nuclear-powered subs are needed, and worth the $368 billion price tag, is a hard sell. -
21 Jun 2023
The “somewhat” conundrum: Lack of communication bedevils AUKUS support
The latest Lowy Institute Poll reveals Australians are no more convinced about the merits of the subs deal than last year. -
17 Apr 2023
AUKUS: What to do with nuclear waste?
Only by investing in community consent – “social licence” – can the government be certain about long-term storage plans. -
27 Mar 2023
Philippines: The best friend for AUKUS in Southeast Asia
Manila has stood apart on Australia’s nuclear-powered subs deal as a sympathetic democracy seeking to balance China. -
22 Mar 2023
AUKUS commits Australia to fight China if America does, simple
Whatever the flag, Washington would not sell nuclear-powered boats unless it could count on them in war over Taiwan. -
21 Mar 2023
James Goldrick, navies, oceans, trade, law, danger and history
A man of both humility and tremendous intellect was an immeasurable asset to Australia’s naval know-how. -
20 Mar 2023
Australia, China, AUKUS and the squandered advantage
Canberra appears to have overlooked the tyranny of distance as its chief asset in regional military deterrence. -
17 Mar 2023
AUKUS: The pillars of Hercules
Wishful thinking will not make the world more benign. Ambition carries a cost, but Australia has a responsibility, too. -
17 Mar 2023
The limits on Australia’s submarine industry
Long before the last boat is delivered, the business will be winding down. -
10 Mar 2023
AUKUS: Asking a veteran submariner what to think
What are the big issues still lurking beneath the surface of the AUKUS debate? -
2 Mar 2023
AUKUS and intellectual property
In an era of economic entanglement, IP theft has the potential to threaten democracy. Governments need to be vigilant. -
24 Feb 2023
The Australia-New Zealand alliance in a war with China
The potential for conflict in the region should have Canberra and Wellington thinking about shared strategic risks. -
1 Feb 2023
Marles torpedoes French subs, but is yet to explain nuclear advantage
For such a high-stakes and expensive enterprise the public deserves to know not just what boats we’re getting, but why. -
5 Dec 2022
Islands as stepping stones for India-Australia collaboration
The Indian Ocean region is too large for any one country to manage but cooperation on island territories would help. -
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. -
29 Dec 2021
An AUKUS surprise – Best of The Interpreter 2021
An extraordinary decision put Australia at the centre of regional defence debates. -
29 Sep 2021
SSN vs SSK
Time on station or a numbers game? The answer depends on the mission for Australia’s submarine fleet. -
28 Sep 2021
AUKUS and the nuclear non-proliferation regime
Australia’s new trilateral agreement and its hard-won nuclear grand bargain. -
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. -
20 Sep 2021
When you’re in a hole, stop digging: Australia and the nuke sub deal
By the time Canberra’s subs roll off the dock, their capabilities will be obsolete, and there are bigger threats, too. -
20 Sep 2021
Australia’s wartime seaborne trade: insights from before
The cargo, not the ships, should guide Australia’s responses to potential threats against seaborne trade and supply. -
16 Sep 2021
How nuclear subs could transform Australia, its alliance and Asia
First thoughts on the consequences of a truly momentous decision. -
3 Sep 2021
Australia’s essential need: not seaborne trade but seaborne supply
“Sea control” is not about dominating waters but only to the extent necessary to ensure the movement needed. -
27 Aug 2021
Australia’s seaborne trade: Essential but undefendable
Recognising the limits to Australia’s military potential. -
10 Mar 2021
Sea denial is not enough: An Australian and Indian perspective
Debates over naval policy need to be mounted with a full understanding of just what a nation needs to do at sea. -
13 Aug 2018
Bring Australia’s Navy home from the Middle East
The RAN has bigger jobs to do than chasing Tanzanian drug smugglers. -
20 Oct 2017
Australia’s navy needs to mind the missile gap
The RAN would have to mobilise practically the entire fleet to match the missile inventory of one Chinese cruiser.