Last weekend, three Chinese warships surprised Australian defence watchers by arriving in Sydney Harbour without prior public announcement. This provoked much debate on social media about how this should be interpreted.

Contrary to popular perception about their political “passivity,” Pacific Island Countries (PICs) have developed very tactical, shrewd and calculating approaches to how they respond to the often ignorant and patronizing attitudes of foreign powers.

The increased public profile of Australia’s intelligence community reflects the nature of contemporary security threats, the need for diverse cooperation and the role of values that distinguish the community from authoritarian intelligence apparatuses.

One thing is clear from his state visit to Britain: President Donald Trump is as unpredictable as he is wilful.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government are entering their second term in office with an even greater majority after a record-setting and myth-busting election.

Indian Prime Minister Modi’s unconventional appointment of a former career diplomat as foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, suggests India will have its most visible and active role in the global community yet.

The Jakarta protests in late May had much deeper roots than just a simple rejection of the official vote count, which tapped into the fanaticism that these elections fostered. Yet while Jakarta returns to normal, questions remain about what happened and the actors involved.

Jakarta’s choice to upgrade its defence capabilities with a billion-dollar submarine project reveals how they view their greatest naval strategic challenges.

In Episode 20 of the Australia in the World podcast, Allan and Darren discuss Trump's restrictions on the sale of technology to Huawei, and what this means for US-China competition. They then pivot to PNG, and reflect upon four election results. Finally, Allan remembers Prime Minister Bob Hawke.

David Walker’s latest book is masterfully written, and also makes some interesting choices about what it does or doesn’t include.