1 August 2010 witnessed the formal transfer of command of the erstwhile Task Force Uruzgan from the Netherlands to the multinational Combined Team-Uruzgan (CTU); in which Australian Defence Force personnel now comprise the greater number of coalition forces operating in a dangerous province where they have served si...

This paper examines the recent progress in, and challenges to, Pakistan’s counter-insurgency strategy and advances four main recommendations on how to make international support to Pakistan effective and worthwhile.

The author of this Special Report is Mr Haider Mullick, a Fellow at the US Join...

The Almanac, authored by Raspal Khosa, is a unique publication that brings together a wealth of information across the full-range of Defence activity in a single, easy-to-use reference source. It is an up-to-date, fact-filled resource that places otherwise difficult to find Defence information at the reader’s ...

This paper is an update of a 2008 ASPI paper and provides an overview of the capability of the Royal Australian Navy intended as a snapshot of current capability and as a primer on the structure and equipment of the RAN. This paper...

This review was prepared under contract to the Department of Defence. The authors were Mark Thomson and Leigh Purnell. In essence, the review was asked a simple question: how much should the government disclose about its...

This paper is an update of a 2008 ASPI paper and provides an overview of the capability of the Australian Army. It is intended as a ‘snapshot’ of current capability and as a primer on the structure and equipment of the ...

This report presents a range of views on the future of Australia’s naval shipbuilding and repair industry.

ASPI asked a range of government and industry players for their views, and their responses form the first section of this report. Papers are by Andrew Davies, Defence Materiel Organisation (DM...

This report, prepared by Mark Thomson, gives interested readers greater access to the complex workings of the Defence Budget and promotes informed debate on Defence budget issues.

This year’s federal budget contained few surprises for Defence. Consistent with the government’s overarching theme...

This report, authored by Richard Leaver and Carl Ungerer argues that Australia’s role as a stable, low-cost supplier of key commodities to the emerging great powers of Asia, China and India, gives Canberra a greater diplomatic bargaining tool than previous governments have been willing to acknowledge.

T...

President Obama’s long-awaited Nuclear Posture Review contains elements of both continuity and change in US nuclear policy. A recrafted Negative Security Assurance, constraining US nuclear use in specific circumstances, lies at the core of the document but, overall, changes are not as grand as leading arm...

This Strategy report, authored by Sam Bateman and Anthony Bergin, argues that Australia should develop a comprehensive policy approach to our Indian Ocean neighbourhood.

Australia is a three ocean country with the largest area of marine jurisdiction in the Indian Ocean, yet we have neglected the Indi...

This week marks the second anniversary of Ma Ying-jeou’s victory in the 2008 Taiwanese presidential election. In the period since Ma’s inauguration relations between Taiwan and China have improved markedly. There are clear signs that the two parties are taking small but vital steps towards a sustained pe...

This Special Report, authored by Athol Yates and Anthony Bergin argues that it’s time for Defence to more fully incorporate domestic disaster assistance tasks as part of its core business.

Defence is likely to be used more frequently in the future to assist in domestic disaster management. There...

This Special Report argues that it is time for a fresh approach by the Australian Government  to prepare the grounds for a more effective re-engagement with the Government of Fiji. Eliminating some of the negatives in the current bilateral relationship is a necessary first step toward re-engaging posit...

This Policy Analysis, authored by Kelly O'Hara and Anthony Bergin, examines the information sharing vision of the new National Security CIO in light of reforms made towards a more joined-up national security community. It argues that information sharing should be a high priority for i...

Defence procurement decisions must balance cost, risk and capability. One way to minimise risk is to acquire equipment that is ‘off-the-shelf’—that is, equipment that is already proven and, in many cases, already entering service with other nations. That can give us assuredness of price and schedul...