Australian Strategic Policy Institute News

US may cut JSF order

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A planned restructuring of the US defence portfolio could make Australia’s purchase of 100 new fighter aircraft more expensive. Andrew Davies said cuts to the US Department of Defence budget and the announcement by the USGAO could limit the supply of the F-35.

US might cut JSF order

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A planned restructuring of the US defence portfolio could make Australia’s purchase of 100 new fighter aircraft more expensive. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is trying to find $US100 billion worth of savings in the US Defence. The wake of the global financial crisis is so vast that the US Government Accountability Office said the US may not be able to afford the purchase of 80 new Lockheed Martin F-35 strike aircraft this year. If that happens, however, that could raise the $16 billion outlay the government had planned to revamp the Royal Australian Air Force. Ashton Carter, acquisition chief for the Pentagon, said the average cost of each fighter was $95 million. Tom Burbage, program director for the joint strike fighter project for Lockheed Martin, said Australia will get the fighters “on budget” despite delays. But Andrew Davies, capability analyst for the Australia Strategic Policy Institute, said cuts to the US Department of Defence budget and the announcement by the USGAO could limit the supply of the F-35.

Out of Iraq, now Afghan campaign

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

US President Barak Obama's quitting of Iraq after almost a decade is driven by domestic economic demands and voter pressure over American deaths than by any other considerations. For Australia, despite 10 deaths since June, Afghanistan is expected to continue hosting our 1550 troops. If the US-led campaign can bolster Afghan security forces and self-rule, opportunities exist that could benefit many. Mining and agriculture, in particular, have been cited as areas of opportunity by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank. It cites tin, tungsten, fluoride and coal deposits, along with value-added industries like apricot-drying, wool processing and tanneries enterprises that would broaden the 12th-century-like enterprises that presently characetrise Afghanistan.

New generation Hornets delivery deadly sting

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Five F/A-18F and about 100 aircrew and maintenance personnel from No. 1 Squadron at RAAF Amberley, Queensland, began testing air-to-ground weapons firing in the middle of the South Australian desert on Monday. The strike aircraft, affectionately known as the Rhino, is designed to replace the ageing F-111s, which are due to be retired later this year after three decades of service. At the time, then Defence Minister Brendan Nelson was criticised for purchasing an interim aircraft. Defence analyst, and Australian Strategic Policy Institute Program Director, Dr Andrew Davies is one of many who was initially critical of its capabilities, but now believes buying the strike fighter was the right decision.

Afghan war a lost cause: ex-CIA officer

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A visiting former Central Intelligence Agency officer says the war in Afghanistan is "unwinnable" and that Australia should pull its troops out of the troubled country as soon as possible. Mr Baer's criticisms came as the Australian Strategic Policy Institute issued a new analysis of Australia's military and civilian efforts in Afghanistan. Institute research fellow Raspal Khosa argues that with the departure of Dutch forces from Oruzgan Province, Australian forces will have to "work smarter" with an integrated strategy of "targeting Taliban command and control, providing population security, conducting security sector reform and governance capacity-building."

Interviewed on ABC Radio, Mr Khosa argued that withdrawal from Afghanistan was not an option for Australia as it would do "incalculable harm to our relationship with the United States."

Mines, farms seen as key to Afghan peace

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

According to Raspal Khosa, Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst, whichever party that forms government should adopt a more comprehensive method to Australia’s aid and military mission in Afghanistan - there should more emphasis placed on Afghanistan’s agricultural and mining sectors to promote long-term economic security. The bulk of Australia’s troops are based in Oruzgan province. In 2010 to 2011, the Labor government has allocated $123 million in aid for Afghanistan. 21 Australian troops have lost their lives since the 2001 invasion - 10 of them since June as the coalition troops have taken the fight to more Taliban areas after US President Barack Obama’s troop boost.

US and Iraq

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Leon Compton discusses how there is a new phase of engagement between the US and Iraq. Compton plays an excerpt from Barack Obama's address. Compton notes that Australia's engagement with Iraq has been one of the biggest in a while and wonders if objectives have been achieved. Rod Lyon is the Program Director, Strategy and International, with the Australian Strategy Policy Institute, says it is wrong to take it as a national question and it is part of a larger context. Lyon says the war will be judged for some time, and is only partially successful which can be seen in Obama's reluctance to claim it. Lyon says it has been a divisive issue for the US and Brits and says it is part of a new form of war with no clear declaration at the end. Lyon discusses the effect the war has had on shaping the Middle East saying regime change was the objective that was running alongside the exposure of WOMD. Lyon notes that Iran's rise was occurring anyway regardless of action in Iraq and the same goes with the Israel and Palestine issue. Lyon says Iraq may end up 'kinder and gentler' but other areas in the Middle East have become more rampant. Compton discusses the efforts if Australian soldiers and Lyon says the soldiers themselves will take ownership and see the results of their efforts more that Australians at home.

A paper from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has called for more varied involvement in Afghanistan.

Faulkner Breaks 28-year FOI logjam

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Outgoing senator John Faulkner, as the Defence Minister, told a parliamentary inquiry that the Department of Defence have reduced the amount of freedom of information requests from 33 to zero. In 2009, Senator Faulkner instigated a new FOI and records divisions to handle FOI requests. Mr Faulkner, while Special Minister for State, also introduced a FOI commissioner and an information commissioner to improve the FOI protocol. The Defence Act gives the government licence to censor or reject FOI requests, although FOI has been used by The Australian to chase costing details on Labor’s $43 billion National Broadband Network. But Mark Thomson, defence analyst for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says the senator’s record in improving transparency in Defence is mixed. “The detail of the $20 billion Defence savings program is opaque,” says Thomson. The government also came under criticism for suppress information on the Collins class submarine fleet in the Defence budget. But Mr Thomson praised Senator Faulkner for his work on the Defence Capability Plan, where he reinstated the 10 year time frame after it was slashed to four years under previous minister Joel Fitzgibbon.

Australia urged to help Afghan farmers

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Raspal Khosa, analyst for the Australian Strategic Policy Insitute (ASPI) provides insight into the current circumstances of the largely agriculture based area of Oruzgan Province in Afghanistan and explains what role Australia can play. Australia, a world leader in farming on arid lands, needs to devote some of that expertise to help struggling Afghan farmers, says a new study. A paper by ASPI said agriculture remained the main source of income for most of Afghanistan's population.

Australia's role in Afghanistan examined

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Raspal Khosa, analyst for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), speaks with Mark Colvin on ABC Radio about the new Australian role in Afghanistan.

Diggers treading a trigger wire

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Raspal Khosa says the increased fighting is a consequence of US President Barack Obama's revised "force uplift" strategy being put into effect by General David Petraeus. Strong coalition contingents were sent into Kandahar and Helmand provinces in particular, and Australians have taken part in some fighting there.

Troops head unarmed into Pakistan

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An Australian defence health team heading into flood and insurgency-ravaged Pakistan will be unarmed and relying on the Pakistani military for security, defence says. Raspal Khosa said Pakistan had a more than capable military and force protection would be a priority to ensure protection of international aid groups.

Call for debate on war after Digger toll hits 20

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There should be an informed debate about the country's continued role in Afghanistan, the Australian Defence Association says, with 20 soldiers now killed in the conflict. Raspal Khosa said a recent spate of deaths happening quite close together in Afghanistan was disturbing and I don't think we factored in so many deaths so quickly.

I spy as agency HQ takes shape

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

While ASIO is a secretive organisation, Canberrans have the rare chance to turn the tables on Australia's largest domestic spy agency by watching the
headquarter's construction.protection during the construction phase was relatively simple. Carl Ungerer said the days of Cold War style bugging and satellite imaging had become largely redunda with cyber security now the biggest threat. The cyber world is clearly the growing phase of all spying today.

Sink the submarines befor it's too late

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The 2009 white paper's force structure plan for 2030, with Kevin Rudd's strong endorsement, recommended that the Australian navy's Collins class
submarines be replaced with another expensive Australian design, rather than the proven, long-range German-designed Type 214 submarine now in service with the South Korean Navy and several others. Australian Strategic Policy Institute analysts estimate the new Australian-designed boats could cost about $40 billion each, as against $9 billion for the Type 214.

US bugle call expected on troops

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Director of the East West Centre Satu Limaye said the United States administration would urge the next Australian government - no matter who wins Saturday’s election - to boost their contribution in Afghanistan. In an address to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Mr Limaye also praised the Gillard government’s pledge via a defence white paper to increase the size of the Australian armed forces. Hugh White, head of the ANU’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, has called the government’s paper a “failure” and warned that Australia was under equipped to maintain a credible armed deterrent in the region. Labor has said a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan could begin in two years, but the Coalition have left the door open to raise Australia’s presence in the country.

China and US'will live and let live'

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Former adviser to John Howard and past head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Michael L'Estrange, said he believed a conflict between the two was unlikely. Mr L'Estrange told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute' s annual conference that the US and China will continue to co-operate where the two can find common ground.

Southeast Asia in shaky strategic phase

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Andrew Davies said Southeast Asian countries are now richer than they were and they can afford the sort of sophisticated militaries that countries like Western European nations have had for decades. But another factor is that the internal stability of Southeast Asia has mostly improved.

Big country is a defence priority

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

By the middle of this century, an Australia with today's population of 22 million would have an increasingly precarious hold on a vast continent. The government's Australian Strategic Policy Institute says in a paper released last year that Australia faces an insecure future as a result of the rise of these new powers. "Because of their enormous populations, some developing countries will relatively quickly reach absolute economic parity with established powers like Germany, Japan and the US, even as their own people remain relatively poor. The result will be a steady shift of power from the West to the East and from the rich to the poor," says the paper by ASPI's Mark Thomson.

Conference calls for national audit of infrastructure likely to be affected by climate change

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A national audit is needed to assess the infrastructure across Australia that is vulnerable to climate change impacts, such as from a sea level rise, a conference heard today. Last year, security policy think-tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said climate impacts were being felt in Australia and government policies weren't keeping pace with the challenge. It called for a national approach to helping communities adapt to the impacts of climate change including by new approaches to land use decisions. It said this national approach would also provide direct assistance to local councils to integrate climate into their planning processes and help them defend planning decisions from developer appeals.

It called for a national approach to helping communities adapt to the impacts of climate change including by new approaches to land use decisions. It said this national approach would also provide direct assistance to local councils to integrate climate into their planning processes and help them defend planning decisions from developer appeals.

Risk of Afghan losses real: PM

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Julia Gillard says a warning by a senior US army commander for Australians to brace for more Afghan casualties reflects the reality of a dangerous mission but one to which the federal government remains committed.Raspal Khosa told The Australian there was nothing surprising about the colonel's remarks. Remote districts within Oruzgan that had long been under Taliban control would continue to serve as an "internal safe haven" for insurgents withdrawing from combat operations in the south.

Australian embassy a terror target, police claim

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Indonesian police claim to have foiled a terrorist plot to blow up the Australian embassy in Jakarta.Carl Ungerer said the claimed target list "looks like standard operating procedure" for the banned Jemaah Islamiah organisation.

Smiling jihadist arrested for 'funding new terrorist training camp'

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ABU Bakar Bashir, the elderly jihadist preacher convicted but later cleared of conspiring in the 2002 Bali bombings, is accused by Indonesian police of having "blessed and funded" a major new terror-bombing operation. Carl Ungerer said Jam aah Ansharut Tauhid has some 3000 members and the Indonesian police see it as the logical successor to JI (Jemaah amiyah) and believe there is a great deal of overlap between the two organisations.

Lockheed Martin boss takes aim at plan for subs

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Paul Johnson, departing Lockheed Martin Australia managing director, has urged both major parties contesting the federal election to ensure that companies with a stake in the Australian defence industry get the "lion's share" of the planned construction of submarines. An Australian Strategic Policy Institute paper released last year put the price of an Australian design and build at up to $36 billion, but it suggested that cheaper off-the-shelf
submarines could cut the price to $9 billion.

U.S. aims clear in embrace of Jakarta

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The US decision to upgrade its security relationship with Indonesia is another sign of a strategic shift in American policy towards the region. The US is looking to broaden and deepen its relationships in Asia in order to share the burden of hedging against China's growth.

Our mate, the bloody warlord

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Lasy Sunday, Dutch soldiers formally ended their Afghan mission and their partnership with Australian troops in Oruzgan province. The Taliban are delighted. Matiullah Khan is widely acknowledged as the most powerful man in Oruzgan. Rapal Khosa said that the dilemma for Australian troops is that they have no option but to deal with ''malign actors'' like Matiullah who are part of a complex human terrain foreign forces have to navigate.

As the US wanes, China gains

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A resurgent China is baring its teeth at the once indomitable US Pacific fleet. The certainty of US hegemony over this vast ocean, which Australians have taken for granted since World War II, is being challenged. Mark Thomson said that it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the scene is set for a large downward swing in US defence spending like those which occurred in 1953,1970 and 1984.

Australia at the Pacific Island Forum

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An op-ed piece by Anthony Bergin has said that Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith is today in Port Vila, Vanuatu, attending the Pacific Islands Forum, a meeting of 16 leaders of the island states of the region. Smith's presence sends the right message. Australia had recently tried to dissuade island states from attending a sub-regional meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group in Fiji, arguing that the Forum was the Pacific's most important regional body.

Our resilience to disasters is sorely lacking

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An opinion piece written by Anthony Bergin and David Templeman has said that Australia must develop a national strategy to deal with natural hazards. Many of the Bushfires Royal Commission's recommendations, while driven by the events of Black Saturday, have relevance across the whole range of natural hazards nationwide. Since European settlement, more than 6000 people have died as a result of natural disasters in Australia. In each of the past 30 years, disasters have cost the community at least $1 billion in current dollar terms and the costs are increasing.

Just don't mention the war

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The WikiLeaks revelations about the war in Afghanistan put the spot light on a subject Australia's political leaders would rather not discuss. Raspal Khosa said that although many of hte WikiLeaks reports refer to incidnets where the details have been publicly reported ,it is the sheer volume of the stuff that is a blow to the Afghan strategy.

Defence team to report on leaks

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A top-level Australian Defence Force team will investigate whether the leaking of 90,000 classified US military reports poses any threat to ADF forces in
Afghanistan. Raspal Khosa sdaid there's been about 20 odd helicopters that have been brought down but most crashed because of the terrain, pilot error or mechanical failure.

Australia not snubbing the Pacific says NZ foreign minister

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully says the absence of Australia's top representatives at a meeting of Pacific island leaders in Vanuatu next week shouldn't be seen as a snub. Anthony Bergin, says it is vital Australia is represented at the Forum at the highest level. It would send a good message that we do take the region seriously if the foreign minister at least, if not the prime minister attends that meeting.

Julia Gillard will n...

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Julia Gillard will not be attending the Pacific Islands Forum scheduled for next month, and will likely send some high-ranking bureaucrats instead. Anthony Bergin claims that if Gillard can not go she should at least send Foreign Minister Stephen Smith in oder to show that Australia takes the region seriously.

Looking west as focus changes

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Australia often punches above its weight on the world stage but its place in the Indian Ocean region is determined largely by the size and power of its neighbours. Anthony Bergin says there is more than trade to be considered. The Indian Ocean is going to be the centre stage for much of the geopolitical competition in the 21st century. We are seeing both India and China making increasing inroads into that region.

Election causing boatpeople scramble

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The two small wooden boats that surprised the Australian navy close to Christmas Island on Wednesday are among the smallest in memory to have made the 380km journey from Indonesia, longtime residents say. Carl Ungerer said the success rate for intercepting boats was high.

Three visions of the bomb: Australian thinking about nuclear weapons and strategy

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Forget the poll, PM must visit Vanuatu

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An opinion piece by Anthony Bergin and Robin Nair said that while our Prime Minister may receive some criticism at home for leaving Australia during the campaign, it will be an opportunity to show her foreign affairs credentials in a region that is of central importance to Australia and one that values consultation and consensus-building in its approach to regional problems.

What's on today

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Korean ambassador, Professor Kim Woo-Sang speaks at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra

Air patrol needed for 'unsealable' borders

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Andrew Davies, said Australia had improved its sharing of surveillance information between agencies, but the equipment side of capability continues to be managed (for the most part) in agency-based stovepipes.

Air patrol needed for 'unsealable' borders

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Andrew Davies said that we must accept the government can never fully seal the country's borders. He also calls for a new cross-jurisdictional surveillance office that could include operating unmanned aerial vehicles.

Raspal Khosa said, d...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Raspal Khosa said, during a radio interview, that Australia is involved in important jobs such as building the capacity of the Afghan government and national security forces.

More FIRB clarity needed

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An opinion piece by Anthony Bergin argues that there should be greater clarity from the FIRB on national security criteria for foreign direct investment proposals.

US troops to replace Dutch force

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Senior NATO sources revealed to The Age this week that US troops will step in next month when the 1800-strong Dutch force leaves Oruzgan province, where they have served alongside Australian troops for more than four years. Raspal Khosa saids the new partnership has a good chance of success, but could lead to more intensive fighting in the province when the more aggressive US forces arrive.

Troops are digging in, not sitting out

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Australian Defence Force is heavily engaged in the main fight in southern Afghanistan. Contrary to the line argued by Whit Mason (World Commentary, July6), that Australia's military commitment is "heavily circumscribed", the national caveats that previously restricted the majority of Australian ground forces to Oruzgan province are largely removed.

We must cry halt when Islamists take liberties

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Joint opinion piece by Anthony Bergin and Carl Ungerer said that last weekend's Hizb ut-Tahrir conference in Sydney, part of a series of events being held around the world by the group to campaign for the formation of a transnational Islamic caliphate, has served to remind us of the main challenge that has emerged to the security of the modern liberal democratic state.

Cry halt when Islamists take liberties

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Joint opinion peice by Anthony Bergin and Carl Ungerer said that last weekend's Hizb ut-Tahrir conference in Sydney, part of a series of events being held around the world by the group to campaign for the formation of a transnational Islamic caliphate, has served to remind us of the main challenge that has emerged to the security of the modern liberal democratic state.

A caller said that t...

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A caller said that two academics from ASPI did a paper on this group (Hizb ut-Tahrir) and said they could provide a 'warm-up track for violent radicals'.

Hardliners teach how to get Islamic state

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute said the government should look at "all legal options" available to it to curb HT's activities. Anthony Bergin said these included the revamped sedition laws, which made it an offence to urge a person to assist an enemy that is at war with Australia.

Carl Ungerer was ...

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Carl Ungerer was interviewed and said PNG could be a candidate for processing asylum seekers if East Timor is not available. He said that processing centre will be UN based and multi-lateral and the infrastructure will cost $10-20m.