Australia has several very viable options for not buying AUKUS nuclear submarines. All of them are much cheaper in the medium to short term and vastly cheaper and much less political in the long term. I have written before about alternatives to buying and operating nuclear submarines by Australia. The main disadvantages of nuclear submarines Continue reading »
Defence and Security
Despite all the determined, and well-funded, efforts of Greg Sheridan, his mates at ASPI and in the media to beat the war drums and the legal shenanigans around the role of the Governor General in declaring war, it is by no means inevitable that Australia will go to war against China. There is opposition at Continue reading »
Promising to double its “defence” expenditure over the coming five-year period and placing huge orders for US military equipment to help it to do so, the sometime “peace state” of Japan is moving into high gear on militarisation. The transformation is plainest in the case of its Southwestern islands that stretch over 1,300 kms from Continue reading »
In the Csergo case the big question is: does the prosecution have any evidence of a real crime and not just a breach of the ridiculous Reckless Foreign Interference law? How dangerous is it to meet a couple of foreigners and have a private cup of coffee? Can you quickly turn to your phone, do Continue reading »
War preparations began with the U.S. Force Posture Agreement providing a gateway for U.S. military build-up in the Northern Territory and giving them unimpeded access to our seaports and air bases. War preparations have continued with huge expenditures on military acquisitions topped with $368 billion on nuclear -powered submarines. Now there are legislative amendments on Continue reading »
The world, we have a problem. It is Houston. America is out of control, and is the main threat to the world’s peace, security and civilizations. America is out of control in its prosecution of war. No nation has loved war more, hot or cold. It has waged war in all but 17 years of Continue reading »
On Monday, Penny Wong delivered her much awaited address to the National Press Club. What a disappointment! So many words, and so little substance. One could dismiss the episode as just another case of a minister who’s not up to the task. Unfortunately, the speech points to a deeper ailment – a government oblivious to Continue reading »
The countries where it’s not safe for Australians to travel have multiplied, but not because of COVID. They include the places where we fought the war on terror. Twenty years ago Australia joined the US ‘coalition of the willing’ to invade Iraq. One reason for doing that, our leaders said, was to remove Saddam Hussein’s Continue reading »
US and British arms industry companies and their little mentioned but crucial support cast of Taiwanese military, lawmakers and government official counterparts are opposed to China-Taiwan reunification, because the current situation acts as their ATM, generating billions of dollars in profit. The recent visit to China by former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou – the first Continue reading »
P&I Editorial: Conflicts of interest at the heart of AUKUS and the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) – including the principal author of the DSR benefitting from US State Department funding designed to build support for AUKUS and the US alliance – demand independent investigation. Australia’s independently-led Defence Strategic Review will shortly be released to the Continue reading »