ASPI-KINU 1.5 Track Strategic Dialogue
17 April, 2013
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1.5 Track Dialogues
The purpose of the Dialogue is to discuss strategic issues of mutual concern to Australia and South Korea and identify practical steps for both countries to address these challenges.

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Drawdown from Afghanistan and implications for the 2013 White Paper
16 April, 2013
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External Events
Mr Stephen Smith MP, Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence, Mr Stephen Smith, spoke at an ASPI lunch on the drawdown from Afghanistan and its implications for the 2013 Defence White Paper. The Minister provided details on the transition to Afghan security forces, and the drawdown from Afghanistan of Australia’s military commitment, including post-2014. The future commitment includes ongoing training, advisory support and funding for the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and potentially a continuing Special Forces contribution to training and counter-terrorism under an appropriate mandate. He highlighted the importance of ensuring that the mistakes following the transition and drawdown from Vietnam wouldn't be repeated, and said that there'll be a focus on supporting our returned veterans, including mental health services.

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ASPI-Hewlett Packard Defence and Security Lunch: "US Pivot to Asia - A view from Europe"
28 February, 2013
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Defence and Security Luncheons
Lord Michael Williams of Baglan, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Chatham House
Michael Williams is one of the UK’s leading experts on Asia. He is currently a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Chatham House in London. He is also a member of the BBC’s Board of Trustees. He was formerly the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East from 2006 – 2011, and before that he served as the special adviser to former British Foreign Secretaries Robin Cook and Jack Straw. He was made a member of the House of Lords in 2010.

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Alliance 21: Australia's future defence spending and its alliance with the United States
28 February, 2013
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Speeches
Dr Mark Thomson - Senior Analyst, ASPI
Australia’s alliance with the United States shapes every aspect of its defence policy, including how much it spends on defence. Conversely, how much Australia spends on defence affects its alliance with the United States. This paper explores the nexus between Australia’s defence spending and its alliance with the United States looking forward.

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Alliance 21: Alliance burden-sharing and force interoperability
28 February, 2013
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Speeches
Dr Andrew Davies - Senior Analyst and Director of Research, ASPI
During President Obama's visit to Australia in 2011, he announced a greater use of Australian facilities by US forces, including ships, aircraft and—most visibly—2,500 Marines rotating through Northern Territory training areas. While in some ways this was simply a more visible reinforcement of a relation that was already deep and multi-faceted, the symbolism wasn’t entirely accidental. The United States has been reassessing its strategic policy and disposition of forces in the Asia-Pacific region and Australia has a role to play.

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Lunch with the Generals
21 January, 2013
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External Events
Chief of the Defence Force General David Hurley and Chief of the British Defence Staff General Sir David Richards
For its first event of the year, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, with the kind support of Hewlett Packard, hosted a luncheon with Australian Defence Force Chief General David Hurley and Chief of the British Defence Staff General Sir David Richards. A panel discussion, moderated by the Australia Network's Catherine McGrath, covered a broad range of issues, including the recent hostage crisis in Algeria, the crackdown on insurgents in Mali, Syria and other areas like Yemen, Somalia and Iran, and the wind-down in Afghanistan, the Solomons and East Timor in 2013.

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Australia-New Zealand 1.5 Track Security Dialogue
13 December, 2012
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1.5 Track Dialogues
The Australia-New Zealand 1.5 track Dialogue grew out of a joint 2011 review of the bilateral defence relationship between Australia and New Zealand looking at ways to strengthen strategic cooperation and priority setting for bilateral defence engagement. The purpose of the Dialogue is to engage Australia and New Zealand’s broader national security communities to promote long-term strategic cooperation and greater understanding of our respective strategic perceptions and assessments. The Dialogue held at ASPI in December 2012 was the first of what is intended to be an annual set of meetings alternating between Australia and New Zealand. Topics discussed included the effects of the American rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific, the South Pacific, and opportunities for bilateral cooperation. Several key policy recommendations emerged from the Dialogue:
- Australia and New Zealand should work together in developing policies related to Washington’s rebalance into the region, as well as ensuring that Washington receives consistent messaging from both states - Both states should explore options for closer collaboration in the cyber-sphere - Common security strategies will need to be developed in the South Pacific, especially related to Bougainville - The Pacific Patrol Boat program should be used as a base to continue expanding upon engagement with the South Pacific - A similar Dialogue for junior Defence policy makers should be established to strengthen the foundations of the bilateral relationship

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ASPI-Hewlett Packard Defence and Security Lunch: "The future of organised crime and cybercrime"
05 December, 2012
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Defence and Security Luncheons
Mr Roger Wilkins AO, Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department
Mr Roger Wilkins AO outlined the future of the organised crime and cybercrime threat facing Australia, focusing on the implications for governments and business. Mr Wilkins canvassed the need for a strong understanding of the threat, and the tools which have been developed to strengthen our response to this threat to date, such as the Organised Crime Strategic Framework. He proposed ways in which government and business can better work together to address this threat into the future, including through developing shared responses to a shared problem, continuing to build resilience within the Australian community and ensuring Australia is a hard target to organised criminals.

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ASPI-Telstra lunch with Robert D. Kaplan: "The Revenge of Geography"
05 November, 2012
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External Events
Robert D. Kaplan
ROBERT D. KAPLAN is Chief Geopolitical Analyst for Stratfor, a private global intelligence firm. He is the author of 14 books on foreign affairs and travel translated into many languages, most recently The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us about Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate. He has been a foreign correspondent for The Atlantic for over a quarter-century. In 2011, Foreign Policy magazine named Kaplan among the world's "100 Top Global Thinkers." New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman calls Kaplan among the four “most widely read” authors defining the post-Cold War.

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Presentation to the Submarine Institute of Australia
01 November, 2012
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Speeches
Dr Andrew Davies, ASPI
Dr Andrew Davies' presentation to the Submarine Institute of Australia, November 2012. You can download the speech below.

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