This week at ASPI has been all about space security. We were delighted to be joined by Lieutenant General Nina Armagno, Director of Staff, Headquarters at U.S. Space Force, and Lieutenant General John Shaw, Deputy Commander at U.S. Space Command for a series of space-focused events. To continue the conversation, ASPI’s Bec Shrimpton asks General Armagno and General Shaw about opportunities and competition in space, the difference between U.S. Space Command and the U.S. Space Force, and how Austr...
Dec 02, 2022•23 min
In the second episode of ASPI’s special series ‘What’s In A Name? The Australia-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’, Dr David Engel and Dr Gatra Priyandita speak to Dr Arianto Patunru and Nicola Yeomans, two people who were instrumental in the Partnership’s creation. They explore the economic dimensions of the Australia-Indonesia relationship, existing trade barriers and how to improve public-private partnerships. Guests (in order of appearance): Dr Gatra Priyandita: https://www.aspi....
Dec 01, 2022•37 min
‘What’s In A Name? The Australia-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’. In a new special podcast series, ASPI’s Dr David Engel and Dr Gatra Priyandita explore the Australia-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the ‘five pillars’ supporting it. In the coming weeks, David and Gatra will be joined by leading thinkers on the Australia-Indonesia relationship to discuss the historical background behind and future of the Partnership. In this week’s episode, they speak to Professor...
Nov 23, 2022•45 min
This week, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Xinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Indonesia. This was the first time an Australian Prime Minister met with President Xi since Malcolm Turnbull in 2016. David Wroe speaks to Dr Alex Bristow about the significance of the meeting and what this means for the bilateral relationship, as well as other developments from Summit Season so far. At the 2015 G20 Summit, world leaders recognised the risks that stat...
Nov 18, 2022•32 min
Fergus Hanson speaks to Rick Rossow about the trajectory of the US-India relationship and lessons for Canberra in how Washington and New Delhi have approached their relationship. They also discuss India’s domestic and foreign policy priorities, including on data security. Staying on the theme of India’s foreign policy, Baani Grewal speaks to Akriti Vasudeva and Dr Teesta Prakash. Their conversation covers the US-India relationship, India-Australia ties, the potential of the Quad and the prioriti...
Nov 11, 2022•48 min
This week, Moscow claimed that Kyiv is planning to use a dirty-bomb, allegations that the US, UK and French foreign ministers have condemned as “transparently false”. Given the renewed focus on nuclear threats, Dr Alex Bristow asks Kelsey Hartigan about progress on non-proliferation issues, risk reduction and the links between integrated deterrence and non-proliferation. The LAND 400 Phase 3 project and the suitability of infantry fighting vehicles to the ADF’s future needs are hotly contested. ...
Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Peter Tesch was until two months ago one of Australia’s most senior and experienced national security and foreign affairs officials. His roles included Ambassador to Moscow and, most recently, Deputy Secretary for Strategy, Policy and Industry at the Department of Defence. As such, no one in Australia has a better understanding of Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, his ambitions for Russia and the enormity of the quagmire he has created for himself with his brutal but incompetent invasion of his sm...
Oct 24, 2022•57 min
In this special episode of Policy, Guns and Money, Justin Bassi speaks to Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at CNAS, and former senior director for South and Central Asia on the US NSC, and Bec Shrimpton, Director of ASPI’s Sydney Dialogue and former Senior Advisor - Major Powers to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women. They discuss deterrence – what it is, how it works, whether we have or lack it - and how the US and Australia can wo...
Oct 21, 2022•35 min
The Chinese Government is using popular Uyghur and other minority influencers on YouTube to promote a sanitised image of frontier regions such as Xinjiang that is starkly at odds with the picture that has emerged internationally of severe human rights abuses. Fergus Ryan and Daria Impiombato speak to David Wroe about their latest report ‘Frontier influencers: the new face of China’s propaganda’, which identifies an increasingly sophisticated propaganda and disinformation campaign and calls for a...
Oct 20, 2022•18 min
This week, senior Chinese Communist Party officials are meeting in Beijing for the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, where Xi Jinping will secure a third term as head of the Chinese Communist Party. In this special episode, Dr Samantha Hoffman and Charlie Parton provide insights into the Party Congress – what it is, the importance of ideology and why it matters, as well as initial takeaways from President Xi’s speech and what to expect from the rest of the Congress. Guests: ...
Oct 19, 2022•13 min
Semiconductors are the incredibly sophisticated and complex computer chips that power all modern electronics. They’re essential for everything from smartphones to nuclear submarines and from medical equipment to wireless communications. There’s been an increased focus on semiconductors of late, with the passing of the CHIPS and Science Act in the United States and tensions in the Taiwan Strait over Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. In this episode, Fergus Hanson speaks to Alex Capri and Professo...
Oct 14, 2022•27 min
Following the Honiara riots in November 2021, the Chinese Communist Party has pushed false narratives in coordinated information operations in an attempt to shape Solomon Islands public perception and to undermine the country’s relationships with Australia and the United States. To discuss this, David Wroe speaks to Blake Johnson, lead author of ASPI’s latest report on the CCP’s information operations in Solomon Islands ‘Suppressing the truth and spreading lies’. With India’s Foreign Minister Dr...
Oct 07, 2022•40 min
Last week, Optus notified the media and its customers that personal data had been compromised in a cyber attack. The compromised data included names, dates of birth, postal addresses, drivers licence and passport numbers. Fergus Hanson and Jocelinn Kang discuss the implications of this breach, the dangers of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, and why Australia should consider prohibiting the payment of ransom demands. Since 2017, Wall Street Journal’s Liza Lin and Josh Chin have been cove...
Sep 30, 2022•57 min
Plenty of security experts feel that the defence industry could learn a bit from Silicon Valley when it comes to moving more quickly, embracing disruption and making quicker decisions. One of them is Dr Bill Greenwalt of the American Enterprise Institute, one of the most sought-after US thinkers on defence acquisition. He’s a former Senate Armed Services Committee staffer and deputy defense undersecretary for industrial policy. Today, Dr Greenwalt speaks with ASPI’s Bec Shrimpton about Australia...
Sep 23, 2022•48 min
Legislating a 43% emissions reduction target is a welcome start, but it’s not enough. That was the message from former Kiribati President Anote Tong and former Palau President Tommy Remengesau on their recent visit to Canberra. For Australia to be able to look future generations of Pacific Islanders in the eye, it needs to do more to contribute to lowering global greenhouse emissions, including ending fossil fuel exports. Guests: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anote_Tong - https://en.wikipedia....
Sep 21, 2022•33 min
“Too big to fail.” How’s that for a bit of pressure on the AUKUS partnership on its first birthday? Today on Policy, Guns and Money. ASPI executive director Justin Bassi speaks with Becca Wasser, Defence Fellow and head of The Gaming Lab at the Center for a New American Security. Becca says AUKUS is such an essential show of commitment between friends and allies, that its failure would mean the failure of the US national defence strategy and potentially for the very idea of integrated deterrence...
Sep 16, 2022•34 min
On 8 September, ASPI hosted the event ‘Beyond the sandpit: Counterterrorism and resilience in an age of strategic competition’. The event focused on how we can translate the lessons and gains of the GWOT into a forward-looking, resilience-focused approach that ensures continued support and engagement with Afghan civil society while also addressing long-term security and stability concerns. Following an introduction by ASPI’s Executive Director Justin Bassi, the event began with a keynote address...
Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 2 min
In this week’s episode of Policy, Guns & Money, we start with Ulie Yildirim’s conversation about continuity and change in war with Professor Beatrice Heuser, Chair of International Relations at the University of Glasgow. Professor Heuser this week delivered the 2022 J.G. Grey Oration at the Australian War College. She and Ulie discuss her oration message, that we need to rethink many of our longstanding beliefs about warfare. Next; it’s a cardinal question... what have we actually learnt from tw...
Sep 09, 2022•39 min
Fergus Hanson speaks to Manuel Muñiz, Provost of IE University and Professor of Practice in International Relations, and former State Secretary at the Spanish Foreign Ministry about how emerging technologies are affecting employment, global leadership and social and economic inequality. They explore the way these systemic inequalities are playing out internationally, and how democratic and authoritarian states are impacted. Speaker Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan prompted a predictably strong re...
Sep 02, 2022•46 min
In this special episode of Policy, Guns and Money, Dr Marcus Hellyer speaks to Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR and Anduril Industries and Dr Shane Arnott, Anduril Industries’ Chief Engineer. They discuss defence industry, improving defence procurement, and bringing a Silicon Valley approach to deliver capabilities faster. Guests (in order of appearance): Dr Marcus Hellyer: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/marcus-hellyer Palmer Luckey: https://www.anduril.com/leadership/ Dr Shane Arnott: https://w...
Aug 31, 2022•21 min
Today is an important day for Ukraine, as the country marks the 31st anniversary of independence from Soviet rule. It is also six months since Russia illegally invaded Ukraine, with no end in sight. In this special episode, ASPI’s Executive Director Justin Bassi asks Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko about the current situation in the conflict, shifts in momentum, international support for Ukraine and the country’s successes in the cyber domain. They also discuss Russia’s am...
Aug 24, 2022•41 min
Katja Theodorakis speaks to Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at FDD, about Iran’s military power and how the country is investing in asymmetric capabilities. They also discuss the challenges posed by anti-status quo powers and Iran’s deterrence strategy. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Marles announced that there would be a Defence Strategic Review focused on ‘force structure, force posture and preparedness, and investment prioritization to ensure Defence h...
Aug 19, 2022•37 min
This week marks a significant milestone for the Policy, Guns & Money team - our 150th episode! We'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback via [email protected], thanks! As Australia’s space sector grows and continues to build significant sovereign capabilities, optimising the links between commercial and national security space is critical. Bec Shrimpton speaks to Adam Gilmour, CEO and Founder of Gilmour Space Technologies, about the need for greater collaboration between the private sector ...
Aug 05, 2022•37 min
On 13 July, Australia’s Deputy prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles formally opened the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Washington DC office. In what is Australia’s first defence and national security think tank to open an overseas office, we were thrilled to have Minister Marles join ASPI’s Executive Director Justin Bassi and the inaugural Washington DC director Mark Watson for the official launch. In this special episode, Justin and Mark share their views on the launch an...
Jul 29, 2022•18 min
In this episode, ASPI’s Bec Shrimpton speaks to Admiral Mike Rogers, former Director of the U.S. National Security Agency and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, and current member of CyberCX’s Global Advisory Board. They consider how the U.S. and its allies have progressed in addressing cyber challenges, and the need for increased industry and government collaboration to solve the problems that technology presents. They also discuss the lessons being learned from Russia’s war on Ukraine, China’s a...
Jul 27, 2022•35 min
Recently, we saw the third and final launch of a NASA rocket from Australia’s Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory – the first successful sub-orbital rocket launch from an Australian commercial centre, and the first commercial launch ever by NASA outside of the United States. ASPI’s resident space-wonks Bec Shrimpton and Dr Malcolm Davis discuss the significance of these launches, what it means for the Australian space industry, and how the Australian government can support this industr...
Jul 20, 2022•39 min
Last week, it was the 25th anniversary of the British handover of Hong Kong, and China’s President Xi Jinping travelled to Hong Kong to mark the occasion. Dr Alex Bristow speaks to Primrose Riordan about the significance of the anniversary, the changes she has seen in Hong Kong over her time reporting from the city and the continuing impacts of the crackdown on dissent and the Hong Kong National Security Law. In a letter to the CEOs of Apple and Google, the Commissioner for the United States Fed...
Jul 06, 2022•39 min
This week on Policy, Guns and Money, we are delighted to be joined by Toomas Hendrik Ilves, former President of Estonia, for a conversation on Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. ASPI’s Executive Director Justin Bassi asks Toomas about Western and NATO unity in support of Ukraine and the implications of the war for democracies and global security, including in the Indo-Pacific. They also discuss cyber challenges, lessons to be learned from the war and the long-term trajectory of the conflict. Guest bi...
Jul 01, 2022•37 min
This week on Policy, Guns and Money, Brendan Nicholson speaks to Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Cambodia’s Minister delegate attached to the PM for Foreign Affairs and ASEAN. They discuss ASEAN’s stance on the conflict in Ukraine, Australia’s relationship with Cambodia, ASEAN’s stance on Myanmar and the expansion of the Ream naval base. This week, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles was in India to meet his counterpart. Karly Winkler and Baani Grewal reflect on how the India...
Jun 24, 2022•37 min
To kick off the episode, Dr Alex Bristow speaks to ASPI newcomer Bec Shrimpton, who will head up this year’s Sydney Dialogue. They discuss the strategic threats Australia faces, including the challenges posed by emerging tech, and the Australia-China relationship. With so much of our data online, and a growing reliance on technology in our daily lives, we are left vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Karly Winkler speaks to Google’s Shane Huntley about the work of the Google Threat Analysis Group and th...
Jun 17, 2022•40 min
