This paper addresses the question of whether the 'Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro' will provide a peaceful and lasting solution to the insurgency and security situation in the Southern Philippines. It briefly outlines the background to the conflict, and analyses three dynamic factors that…

This brief – the first in the new monthly series The Looking Glass – tackles the need to ask tough questions about what Australia wants, how it might seek to obtain it, and what choices will be necessary to realise its objectives. The authors, Matthew Sussex and Michael Clarke, argue that…

This edition of The Looking Glass looks at the drivers of Sino-Russian cooperation and explore how China's response to the implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine may play out. The authors suggest that China's response to date demonstrates that it is attempting to balance its desire to…

This final issue of the Looking Glass for 2022 casts a critical eye over the Biden administration's National Security Strategy (NSS). Much of its general thrust had already been hinted at by the administration's statements and actions. However, coming as it does at the midpoint of President Biden's…

This paper examines the ongoing strategic competition and rivalry between India and China, suggesting it can be seen as a 'New Great Game', with parallels to the original 'Great Game' played out between Britain and Russia for control of South and Central Asia in the 19th century. It argues that…

On 13 June 2022, Xinhua reported that Xi Jinping had approved an order to issue the 'Military Non-War Military Action Plan (for Trial Implementation)' for the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Although light on detail, the report noted that the 'action plan' contained 6 chapters and 59 articles and…

This paper examines China's expansion in the South Pacific to determine whether it constitutes a destabilising effect to the existing regional order over the next 10 years, both in terms of rivalling the traditional dominance of New Zealand and Australia, and in the context that Pacific Island…

Much ink has been spilled over the past month assessing the current state of Sino-US relations, and what it means for regional and Australian security. In this December issue of the Looking Glass, the authors seek to fill the gap between what the protagonists themselves think about the current…

This paper examines China's increased influence in the Indian Ocean, and India's strategy to counter that influence and re-establish its profile in the region. It notes that India and China are both dependent on sea lines of communication (SLOCs) through the Indian Ocean for secure energy routes…

The Autumn 2016 edition of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Digest is testimony to the impressive cognitive skills of the contributing students, and an empirical yardstick for measuring the Centre's obvious success in preparing its students for senior leadership positions within their respective…

This edition of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Digest is composed of the work of Australian and international members of the 2015 Defence and Strategic Studies Course (DSSC), the flagship of Australia's professional military development system. The articles written by DSSC students are wide-ranging in…

This Indo‑Pacific Strategic Digest is a collection of the best student essays of 2016 and 2017 from the senior professional development and education program of the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, Australian Defence College. The papers were…

The range of papers in this fourth edition of the Digest reflects research submitted by students of the 2015 and 2016 Defence and Strategic Studies Courses, together with two papers by ADF officers from other courses.  The papers have been chosen for publication based on their scholarly…

This paper examines instability in Pakistan, and addresses the questions of whether and how Australia should contribute to counter its causes. It argues that Pakistan is of long-term importance to Australia's interests in South Asia, and that Australia can do more to build a stronger relationship…

This paper examines why food security is a strategic-level security issue for China. It notes that China has achieved a level of food self-sufficiency, reduced its levels of poverty and is currently food secure. However, it also asserts that the challenges of population growth, urbanisation,…

This paper considers whether it is in Australia's interests to continue to strengthen security relations with Japan in the context of Japan's problematic relations with China. It contends that the state of Japan-China relations matters to Australia because the lack of strategic trust between the…

How should Australia approach its relationships over the longer term with states in the region in order to best advance its interests? This edition of The Looking Glass examines this question in more detail. The authors argue that an effective Australian approach to the region will need to focus…

“Great power competition” is one of the defining characteristics of the contemporary strategic environment, both globally and in the critically important Indo-Pacific region. Part of this condition is a return of nuclear weapons and nuclear strategy to prominence in international security policy…

This paper addresses the question of whether the US rebalance to the Indo-Pacific is good for Australia. It overviews the considerations that drove the policy and identifies the broad strategies being pursued by the US. The paper details the steps being taken to realise the policy and then…

This paper examines the potential threat to Australia's security posed by the return of foreign fighters. It argues that a number of these individuals will return to Australia over the next ten years with the know-how and wherewithal to cause harm through a terrorist act—and that the numbers are…

Vladimir Putin's massive invasion of Ukraine has yielded a number of surprises. The first was that many analysts did not believe Putin would have the audacity to launch such a full scale operation. Another has been the spirited resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces. Perhaps the biggest surprise…

This paper addresses the question of whether Australia and the near region are ready for the next attack of influenza. It notes that new pathogens are constantly emerging and also rapidly changing, developing better-tuned defences that resist human efforts to contain and control them. The paper…

This edition of The Looking Glass explores the evolution of China's strategy toward Taiwan, how the August PLA exercises around Taiwan fit within it, and identify some of the major implications for cross Strait relations and Sino-US relations. The authors argue that China's approach to the Taiwan…

This paper analyses ways to deepen the Australia-Japan defence relationship. It argues that while there has been considerable progress in the last decade, the operational level is the missing aspect of the defence relationship, and that there is still much work to be done to achieve…

This paper examines the Australia-Japan security relationship, which it notes has substantially expanded since the end of the Cold War. The paper contends that the bilateral partnership has exceeded the limits that would be seen if it were merely cooperation between two spokes in the US alliance…

The objective of The Chiefs study was to describe the leadership processes and cultural milieu at the most senior levels of the Australian military profession. Studying work and culture at the strategic level, The Chiefs breaks fresh ground, not just in Australia but internationally. The vast…

This paper examines China's claim to islands and adjacent waters in the South China Sea, as submitted to the UN in 2009, which has subsequently become known as the 'Nine-Dash Line' claim. It particularly analyses the claim in the context of its potential impact on ASEAN and the security environment…

In the October 2022 issue of Listening Post the authors examine Russian threats of escalation in Ukraine; the long delayed release of the Biden administrations National Security Strategy this month; and Xi's dominance of the CCP's 20th Party Congress.

In the final issue of The Listening Post for 2022 the authors recap some of the most important developments they have tracked this year and the most-read themes, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US National Security Strategy and Nuclear Posture Review, Kim Jong-un's brinkmanship on…

The January 2023 issue of The Listening Post examines the prospects for Sino-US relations and the war in Ukraine.