By Robbin Laird The latest Williams Seminar held in Canberra on April 11, 2019 focused on the strategic shift for Australia within the context of the evolving global situation. Facing the rising challenge posed by the 21stcentury authoritarian states, and by the changing nature of alliances in the Pacific and…
By Robbin Laird During my current visit to Australia, I had an opportunity to continue my discussions with Air Vice Marshal (Retired) John Blackburn with regard to the challenges facing Australian energy security. Increasingly, there is a perception that Australia needs to create an energy reserve or buffer with regard…
Cyprus has provided a key operational launch point for the RAF in the Middle East for some time. Recently, the UK updated its agreement with the Cyprus government for continued operations from Cyprus. In an article published on April 8, 2019 by Hemanth Kumar and Talal Husseini, the new agreement…
In an article published April 3, 2019, the UK MoD announced the deployment of a JEF to the Baltic Sea. Nearly 2,000 UK Armed Forces personnel will deploy to the Baltic Sea for a series of multinational exercises in support of European security. Sailors and marines from all nations of…
By Robbin Laird During my current visit to Canberra in support of the Williams Foundation seminar which will focus on enhanced sustainability for Australian defense efforts, it is not surprising that I have been talking with Australians about how to do so. It is clear that as we address the…
By Robbin Laird Last year, the Australian navy announced that they would build a new class of frigates, the Hunter class. This new class will be built-in Australia with BAE Systems as the prime contractor. The Brits and the Aussies will work together on this new launch platform and the…
According to a story published on the UK MoD website on April 5, 2019, a Royal Navy vessel conducting United Nations sanctions enforcement against North Korea has successfully tracked an illegal transfer at sea. Working alongside Japanese partners, HMS MONTROSE spotted a North Korean ship in the East China Sea, alongside…
With 2014 came the end of an era. It was apparent that authoritarian powers were back and in many ways’ ascendant. The response by the liberal democracies has been varied and differentiated. Some have taken it seriously; others hope that the past period of hope for a globalized democratization process…
