A good example of the redemptive power of democracy on display in the US today.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party punishes an international football star for the crime of uttering the truth about Mao's dictatorship over half a century after his death.
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Calling mid-career professionals with ideas relevant to Australian defence policy!
Interest areas include: alliances & partnerships; non-proliferation & arms control; NDS26 concepts; defence industry; geoeconomics; warfare & deterrence; and, Southeast Asia defence & security.
🔔 Applications are now open for ASPI's 2027 Defence Fellows Program 🔔
The program supports emerging leaders ready to bring new ideas and perspectives to some of Australia’s most pressing defence and security challenges.
✍️ Find out more and apply ➡️ bit.ly/46Qrpwn
Always an honour to engage with our Japanese friends.
Thank you to Sadamasa Oue, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan, and his delegation for visiting @ASPI_org this week to exchange views with @BassiJustin and the team.
🇦🇺🇯🇵 Strategic depth is built on trust between friends. We hope to welcome you back to Canberra soon.
Good on Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. for calling out the CCPs coercion. “Perhaps basic decency and behaviour is what China needs to do…”
What a great conference. Thanks to everyone who attended, supported and contributed today. We look forward to seeing you next year!
That's a wrap on #ASPIDefCon26!
Thank you to our speakers, delegates and partners for a day of insightful discussions on how Australia and its partners can strengthen deterrence, build resilience and enhance collective security in the Indo-Pacific. 🌏
📸 Highlights ⤵️
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Great to have you with us Nick!
Excited to be joining @ASPI_org at such an interesting and important time for the region and for geopolitics more generally. I look forward to working with such a top team.
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It's that time of year again - a time for us all to take a good hard look at ourselves.
Take a look at ASPI's The cost of Defence 2026-2027 budget brief to see what we've found.
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Always good to speak with @Kieran_Gilbert, this time about Japan and the role it could play in helping manage risks in the AUKUS Optimal Pathway.
Speaking to @Kieran_Gilbert on @SkyNewsAust, @MikeHughesASPI discussed the findings of ASPI's new report examining risks in the AUKUS Optimal Pathway and the role Japan could play in helping Australia avoid a potential future submarine capability gap.
📺 Watch here ⬇️
We're looking forward to having @RichardMarlesMP, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Defence, join us for the 2026 Defence Conference.
We look forward to seeing you all there!
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 📢
We're pleased to announce @RichardMarlesMP, 🇦🇺 Deputy PM and Minister for Defence, will speak at the 2026 ASPI Defence Conference.
With conflicts across the 🌏, this event will unpack the NDS & Australia's role in the world.
🎟️: bit.ly/4tFfPhn
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Great to speak with Ashleigh Gillon about the release of the National Defence Strategy today.
ASPI’s @MikeHughesASPI joined @SkyNewsAust to break down the 2026 National Defence Strategy, from balancing the US alliance with greater self-reliance, to questions around defence spending, and the push to accelerate acquisition of drones and autonomous systems.
📺 Watch ⤵️
A significant day today with the release of the 2026 National Defence Strategy.
Ahead of the release of the 2026 National Defence Strategy, @MikeHughesASPI joined @abcperth to discuss 🇦🇺’s defence priorities, including why spending must rise, why integrated air & missile defence matters, & the need for greater capability, autonomy & a strong 🇺🇸 alliance.
Come and join us at the ASPI Defence Conference on 25 June.
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 📢
We’re pleased to announce @PatConroy1, Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs, will speak at the 2026 ASPI Defence Conference on 25 June in Canberra.
🧵1/3 ⤵️
A great new report here from my ASPI colleague Dr Raji Rajagopalan (@raji143) on the Sino-Russian partnership and its consequences for Australia (and all like-minded partners).
#NewReport -- I have a new @ASPI_org report, “The Sino-Russian partnership: why it matters for Australian security and defence” which has even greater relevance given all that is happening in Iran: aspi.org.au/?p=52737 1/7 #SinoRussian #AxisofAutocracies #CRINK
Great to talk with Josh Malm at the CDA Institute about:
- PM Carney’s Davos speech, the post-1945 order and the substance of the ‘middle power way’
- What more Australia and Canada can do together in the Indo-Pacific
- Values, social licence and the 2nd Trump Administration
ASPI's Director of Defence Strategy @MikeHughesASPI joined the @CDAInstitute podcast to discuss 🇨🇦 Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Davos speech, his recent visit to Australia and where Canada fits in today’s Indo-Pacific security architecture.
🎧 Listen ➡️ bit.ly/4di4RZx
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Come and join us for the @ASPI_org 2026 Defence Conference!
📢 Registrations now open for the 2026 ASPI Defence Conference.
Join policymakers, military leaders and experts in Canberra on 25 June to discuss strengthening deterrence, building credible capability & reinforcing collective security.
🎟️ Register here: bit.ly/4b4EHbo
Another great initiative from the Defence Strategy team here at ASPI. Fault Lines will deliver a fortnightly examination of the actions that shape and contest the international order in Australia’s region across Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.
🚨 NOW LIVE 🚨
ASPI has launched Fault Lines, a fortnightly newsletter examining the developments shaping the international order in 🇦🇺’s region 🌏.
Each edition covers key actions across Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania.
📩 Subscribe now 👉 bit.ly/4qII6SM
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My last piece for the year, reflecting on Australia’s place in a disordered world, why China remains the greatest threat to our sovereignty and democracy, and what we are and should be doing about it.
'We need credible military capabilities to raise the cost of coercion, alongside deeper economic and diplomatic ties that give our neighbours choices,' writes @MikeHughesASPI. http://https//www.aspistrategist.org.au/australia-in-a-disordered-world/
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Another great offering from the ASPI Defence Strategy Program.
Applications are now open for the inaugural 2026 ASPI Defence Fellows Program!
This is a year-long fellowship for mid-career professionals to deliver a publishable research project with mentoring, workshops and senior-leader engagement.
🗓️ Apply now ➡️ bit.ly/4p5mkaI
Taiwan plays a critical role as a stabilising force in the Indo-Pacific and is an important partner for many countries. Understanding China's daily coercion and the ambition that drives it is a must for anyone dedicated to stability and a just peace in the Indo-Pacific.
🚨 NEW RESEARCH 🚨
ASPI’s new Pressure Points instalment examines how Beijing frames its claim to Taiwan, the coercive tools it uses to enforce it, how Taipei is responding and how other governments are managing rising confrontation risks.
🔎 Explore 👉 bit.ly/4o4lLgc
