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James Goldrick

James Goldrick AO, CSC is a former Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute.

He joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1974 and retired in 2012 as a two-star Rear Admiral. He commanded HMA Ships Cessnock and Sydney (twice), the multinational maritime interception force in the Persian Gulf and the Australian Defence Force Academy. He led Australia’s Border Protection Command and later commanded the Australian Defence College. A Visiting Fellow of the Sea Power Centre-Australia, an Adjunct Professor of the University of NSW at ADFA and a Professorial Fellow of ANCORS, his research interests include naval and maritime strategic issues in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the response of navies to changing technologies and operational challenges. His books include: The King’s Ships Were at Sea: The War in the North Sea August 1914-February 1915 and No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Navies of South-East Asia: A Comparative Study, co-authored with Jack McCaffrie, will be published later in 2012.

Articles by James Goldrick (23)

James Goldrick 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.
James Goldrick, Sudarshan Y. Shrikhande 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.
James Goldrick 2 Jul 2020

Defence Strategic Update 2020: A first assessment

A candid assessment of Australia's challenges, but will the planned measures be enough?
James Goldrick 31 Jul 2019

China’s intelligence gathering ships change the equation

If not quite a return to the Cold War, there are operational consequences to China’s increasing naval capabilities.
James Goldrick 9 Nov 2018

The new normal: a close naval encounter in the South China Sea

The Chinese commander’s handling of the situation was less than adept.
James Goldrick 11 Jul 2018

China’s expanding navy

The PLA-N is growing rapidly, raising problems for personnel and the integration of new capabilities into the service.
James Goldrick 10 Apr 2018

Getting our maritime security effort right

The time has clearly come for a careful examination of what Australia needs in a civil maritime security organisation.
James Goldrick 5 Dec 2017

The limits of ‘global Britain’

The UK can still have a voice in global issues by concentrating a diminished military closer to home.
James Goldrick 11 Oct 2017

Britain’s defence planners face hard questions

Hard questions must be asked about the future of the Royal Navy and the totality of Britain’s force structure.