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.

In our first issue of the Listening Post for 2022, the Centre for Defence Research senior fellows consider the forthcoming US Nuclear Posture Review, protests in Kazakhstan, and NATO-US-Russia talks to try and de-escalate the worsening security tensions on the Ukrainian border.

As it becomes increasingly clear that Putin's invasion of Ukraine has been both poorly planned and executed, in this issue our authors consider what we know so far and what a protracted war may look like. They also further examine the implications of the US National Defense Strategy and Nuclear…

The May 2022 issue of Listening Post, the authors look at Biden's comments on Taiwan during his recent visit to Japan and what they may mean for the US policy of 'strategic ambiguity', how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is prompting a re-write of Biden's National Security Strategy, speculation of…

In the August 2022 issue of The Listening Post, the authors review China's joint combat training exercises in the waters and airspace off Taiwan in the wake of Nancy Pelosi's visit; the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul from a US drone-launched missile; Russia's decision to pause nuclear weapons…

In September 2022 issue The Listening Post the authors consider the implications of Ukraine's counteroffensive; Russia's 'partial mobilisation' and referendums to annexe parts of Ukraine; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders' summit; AUKUS one year on; and some of the speculated…

Regular readers of The Looking Glass would be fairly familiar with the typical format. Usually each issue features an assessment of an emerging issue of interest to strategic and defence planners, often (but not exclusively) featuring an 'Australian' angle. For the next two iterations though, the…

Following on from the September edition of The Looking Glass, which took a critical look at the mythos that has built up around Vladimir Putin as a master strategist, this issue focuses to the conventional wisdom that Xi Jinping's China constitutes a cunning and ideologically driven foe with a well…

The November 2021 issue of The Looking Glass examines the release earlier this month of the latest in what has come to be referred to as the annual 'China Military Power Report' (CMPR) from the Pentagon to the US Congress. It provides a wealth of detail on China's ongoing military modernization,…

This paper examines India's water security challenges. It notes that if trends persist, more than 100 million Indians will soon face desperate domestic, agricultural and industrial water shortages, with serious implications for longer-term food security, livelihoods and economic growth. It contends…

This paper examines the shifting balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region brought about by China's economic and social transformation. It examines the US 'pivot' to the Asia-Pacific, and China's likely responses, with a particular focus on the implications for Australia. The paper notes that…

In this inaugural issue of the Vanguard Occasional Paper Series, Major General Mick Ryan identifies broad gaps in how Defence has traditionally approached strategic thinking skills in its people and provides a way forward to nurture and build better strategic thinkers. Senior leaders in the…

The first edition of the Looking Glass for 2023 features a slightly unusual piece: an attempt to understand what lessons Australia should draw from Russia's war against Ukraine as it enters its second year. The lessons the authors identify are by no means exhaustive (in fact they were going to add…

This paper analyses how India and Australia can build on their relationship to become strategic partners. It argues that rising Chinese assertiveness needs to be balanced by a security architecture that is not led by the US, if a Cold War-type grouping of nations is to be avoided. It contends that…

This paper discusses China's claim in the South China Sea in the context of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The paper acknowledges role of UNCLOS in assisting to provide governance arrangements for the maritime domain in certain circumstances, and notes that China intends to work…