Australian Strategic Policy Institute

'[There are] longstanding concerns over the expanding role of the [Indonesian] military in civilian affairs, with the armed forces increasingly functioning as a state instrument to implement domestic policy where civilian bureaucracy is perceived to be insufficient,' writes Jascha Ramba Santoso.

As Australia looks to partnership, Indonesian military builds internal role | The Strategist Indonesia’s defence policy is moving in two directions at once. Externally, it is pursuing procurement and modernisation while expanding defence diplomacy, training and international engagement. But domestically, its military focus is shaped by a broad ...

ICYMI 🎙️

In the latest episode of Stop the World, ASPI's David Wroe is joined by You-Hao Lai, a researcher at Taiwan's Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology, to discuss how AI is supercharging information operations and how Taiwan is fighting back.

From China's push to shape global AI standards to the growing scale and sophistication of information operations targeting Taiwan, the discussion examines how AI is reshaping the information environment and what lessons Taiwan's whole-of-nation response offers other democracies.

🎧 Listen here 👉 bit.ly/4hDam7m

'Beijing’s advantage didn’t stem from superior mineral reserves. Australia alone holds globally significant deposits of many critical minerals. At the same time, substantial reserves exist across the US, India and other partner nations. China’s advantage emerged because it spent decades building processing capacity, developing downstream industries, directing investment, shaping markets and integrating industrial policy with strategic objectives,' writes John Coyne.

The Quad is still treating critical minerals as a mining problem | The Strategist China won the first critical minerals contest while Australia, India, Japan and the United States were still debating supply-chain resilience. Beijing’s advantage didn’t stem from superior mineral reserves. Australia alone holds globally significant deposits of ...

'A war in the Indo-Pacific would demand unity of effort and draw on Australian national support and industry. There is much preparatory work underway to build this resilience,' writes Marcus Schultz.

Australian Army chief leaves legacy and an open door for further professionalisation | The Strategist The Australian Army has completed a two-year internal review into the state of the profession and institutional reform targeting command accountability. This period of introspection addressed what Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, the 41st chief of ...

SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🔊

We're delighted to announce Dr Kate Conroy, General Manager of Australia's AI Safety Institute, will speak at the Sydney Dialogue AI Masterclass on 14 September.

Join us in Canberra for a full day of frank discussion on the benefits, challenges and implications of AI, including where the technology is taking the Indo-Pacific and what Australia and its partners can do to ensure they are not mere bystanders as it reshapes society, safety and security.

🔗 Register now 👉 bit.ly/4aEWpld

'Ownership is distributed across operators, boards, procurement teams, regulators and ministers until responsibility effectively disappears and unsupported systems keep running, carrying live demand, long after the last security patch. That governance failure is now a national security problem,' write Jason Van der Schyff and James Corera.

Legacy technology is a national security threat hiding in plain sight | The Strategist The problem with legacy technology is not that organisations do not know the risks. It is that no mechanism forces a decision. Ownership is distributed across operators, boards, procurement teams, regulators and ministers until responsibility effectively disappears and unsupported ...

🚨 NEW REPORT 🚨

End-of-life technology is becoming one of the most significant governance challenges facing governments and critical infrastructure operators, with implications for national security, economic resilience and the continuity of essential services.

In ASPI's latest report, 'Past its use-by-date: Turning end-of-life technology risk into national advantage', ASPI Fellow Jason Van der Schyff argues that the persistence of unsupported systems is not simply an IT problem but a governance failure.

📖 Read the full report ➡️ bit.ly/4x3nKpP

'Of the two main sites for AUKUS Pillar One, the one at Henderson, south of Perth, is subject to all the usual and correct processes of open scrutiny as money is spent. For the other, at Osborne in Adelaide, the funds are going into a black box. This includes A$4.6 billion announced last week,' writes Raelene Lockhorst.

AUKUS spending should be fully accountable at Osborne. It is at Henderson | The Strategist For no good reason that anyone can see, much of the infrastructure spending for building Australian nuclear submarines is bypassing public accountability. Of the two main sites for AUKUS Pillar One, the one at Henderson, ...

🚨 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

We're looking forward to welcoming Dr Liming Zhu, Research Director at CSIRO, to the Sydney Dialogue AI Masterclass on 14 September in Canberra.

Join political leaders, senior officials, industry innovators and civil society experts for conversations on how AI is reshaping the strategic, economic and security landscape across Australia and the Indo-Pacific.

Sessions will examine frontier AI, the global strategic outlook, Australia's role in the AI supply chain, security and defence applications, and the partnerships needed to ensure the region helps shape the future of AI.

🔗 Register now ➡️ http://bit.ly/4aEWpld

'The G7 has established the political commitment needed to begin addressing the challenge of strategic concentration in critical supply chains. The next step is to build the analytical architecture capable of measuring concentration, coordinating diversification and intervening where markets cannot adequately manage strategic risk,' writes John Coyne.

Australia and Japan can help build the G7's critical-minerals future | The Strategist This week’s visit to Australia by Japanese Minister of State for Economic Security Kimi Onoda offers the country an opportunity to ensure its natural abundance of critical minerals can play a key role in Japan’s ...