Australia's ambitious leap into nuclear submarine warfare through the AUKUS partnership represents one of the most significant strategic pivots in the nation's defense history. But a seemingly unrelated infrastructure project in Western Australia may be inadvertently creating a massive security vulnerability at the very heart of this cornerstone defense initiative.…
By Robbin Laird In an interview I did in Norfolk last year with Commander Mason Fox and his team. Fox is the Commander of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 40, the “Mighty Bison.” In that interview he underscored a key point which is rarely noted in discussions about the way…
In an era of intensifying major power competition, China's diplomatic engagement with commodity-rich nations has emerged as a cornerstone of its global strategy. The contrasting yet complementary approaches Beijing has adopted toward Brazil under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Australia under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reveal a sophisticated…
In the turbulent landscape of contemporary global politics, few phenomena are as rare or as psychologically compelling as the successful comeback after political disgrace. Yet our current historical moment has produced one of the most extraordinary coincidences in modern democratic history: two septuagenarian leaders, Donald Trump and Luiz Inácio Lula…
President Lula's recent decision to station Brazilian general officers permanently in Beijing marks a potential inflection point in Brazil's defense partnerships, one that could jeopardize billions of dollars in established defense industrial relationships and undermine decades of successful technology transfer programs. While proponents frame this as a move toward "strategic…
By Robbin Laird Australia stands at a strategic crossroads. The Pentagon's last-minute withdrawal from the Indo-Pacific Deterrence Dialogue in Canberra, coupled with the Trump administration's review of AUKUS and escalating trade tensions, has crystallized a fundamental challenge for Australian strategists: how to maintain essential alliance relationships while building the strategic…
Australia faces one of the world's most daunting maritime surveillance challenges. With responsibility for approximately 10 percent of the world's ocean surface and 59,700 kilometers of coastline, the Australian Maritime Border Command (MBC) has long struggled with the fundamental problem of insufficient assets and manpower personnel to effectively monitor such…
Armenia is executing a careful but decisive pivot away from Russia toward closer integration with the European Union and United States, driven by Moscow's failure to protect Armenian interests during the Azerbaijan conflict and Russia's broader decline as a reliable security guarantor. The EU's nuanced approach, offering partnership without demanding…
