ASPI ranked among world’s best think tanks

ASPI is proud to be ranked as one of the world’s best think tanks in the University of Pennsylvania’s 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index (GGTTTI), the gold standard of excellence for think tanks around the world.

This year, ASPI increased its rank to 16th in the ‘top defense and national security think tanks’ category, making ASPI the number one defence and security think tank outside of the US and Europe.

ASPI also ranked 27th in the ‘top foreign policy and international affairs think tanks’ category, the highest ranking for any Australian-based think tank.

The 2014 GGTTTI also named ASPI as the number two ‘think tank to watch’ globally for the second year running, behind the BRICS Policy Centre in Brazil.

ASPI made inroads in other categories this year: Dr Mark Thomson’s annual publication, “The Cost of Defence: ASPI Defence Budget Brief 2014-2015”, was ranked the 16th best policy report produced by a think tank; and ASPI’s collaborative efforts with South Africa’s Brenthurst Foundation were recognised in the ‘best institutional collaboration involving two or more think tanks’ category.

ASPI was again commended for its excellent social media presence, ranking in the top 30 think tanks with the best of use of social media. ASPI has established presences on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. ASPI’s blog, The Strategist, plays an essential role in facilitating debate on Australian defence and strategic issues.

GGTTTI rankings rely on the votes of over 20,000 journalists, policymakers, public and private donors, think tank staff, and functional and regional area specialists.

To read the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, click here (PDF). 

Prime Minister Abbott announces Cyber Security Policy Review Panel

Director of ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre, Dr. Tobias Feakin has been appointed by Tony Abbott to an expert panel to assist the government in its Cyber Security Review.  The review is intended to undertake a comprehensive assessment of Australia’s current cyber security arrangements, policies and strategies. It will assess gaps in current policy and capability, and determine the best way forward to protect Australia online.

Sources

Tony Abbott announces cyber security review – Sydney Morning Herald, 27 November 2014

Govt to review cybersecurity threat – The Australian, 27 November 2014 

ASPI ICPC releases inaugural report CYBER MATURITY IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION – 2014

The ASPI International Cyber Policy Centre, with the help of Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull MP, today launches its inaugural examination of the Asia-Pacific cyberspace landscape and finds that Australia fairs well against its regional neighbours, ranking higher than China in terms of its overall national ‘cyber maturity’. You can download this report here.

The Asia-Pacific region has increasingly become a global point of strategic interest and competition. The region is both at the heart of global economic growth as well as simmering territorial disputes and political tensions between nations. The development of cyberspace and the information and communications technology (ICT) that powers it has proven to be an integral part of the region’s socioeconomic growth.

Although increasing connectivity has generated undeniable benefits, it has also created new vulnerabilities for governments and the private sector in the areas of national security and online crime. In an environment such as cyberspace where gains are high, the probability of capture is low and deniability rules, many different economic and political confrontations are playing out simultaneously.

To make considered, evidence-based cyber policy judgements in this regional context, there’s a need for better tools and information to assess the ‘cyber maturity’ of nations in the region. In response to this over the past twelve months the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre has developed a Cyber Maturity Metric which provides a guide to the regional picture.  The UK and the US were included in the study as a benchmark upon which to gauge how well other nations were developing their responses to the challenges and opportunities that cyberspace offers.

Nations’ cyber maturity was measured across four different topics, governance structures, military application, digital economies and business, and social engagement.  Scores were applied across research questions across those topics and then a total cyber maturity score was given out of 100.  The sixteen nations’ overall scores were:

Cambodia   20.1

United States   86.3

United Kingdom  81.2

Australia   75.8

South Korea   75.5

Japan    75.3

Singapore   74.7

China    58.4

Malaysia   57.9

India    45.9

Philippines   43.4

Indonesia   42.4

Thailand   41.6

Myanmar   29.7

Papua New Guinea  23.0

North Korea   20.7

ASPI’s international conference: The Submarine Choice.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute will host an international conference: The Submarine Choice on Wednesday, 9 April until Thursday, 10 April at the Hyatt Hotel, Canberra.

As the government moves closer to deciding on Australia’s Future Submarine, ASPI has brought together senior policymakers, high-level military officials, leading industry representatives and academics from Australia and around the world.

Speakers, including Senator the Hon David Johnston; ADM Harry B. Harris—US Pacific Fleet; VADM Ray Griggs—Chief of Navy; RADM Phillip G. Sawyer—Commander, US Submarine Force, US Pacific Fleet and many more, will discuss key aspects of what will arguably be the most expensive and technologically complex defence capability project in the history of the nation.

ASPI’s conference aims to share different perspectives on the Future Submarine’s strategic, economic and industry dimensions with a view to informing government’s decision-making process. ASPI’s international conference will provide a great networking opportunity and exposure to the ‘who’s who’ of the submarine world.

The topics include:

·         The Strategic Context

·         The Navy’s Perspective

·         Regional Perspectives

·         Design Options

·         Industry and Economics

·         Project Management

·         Lessons from Abroad.

ASPI releases Special Report: A return on investment: the future of police cooperation between Australia and Indonesia

ASPI releases ‘Special Report: A return on investment: the future of police cooperation between Australia and Indonesia’, by David Connery, Natalie Sambhi and Michael McKenzie. You can download a copy of this report here.

The relationship between Australia’s Federal Police and their Indonesian counterpart, the Indonesian National Police (POLRI), is a remarkable story of cooperation that has delivered benefits for both countries.

There’s a maturity in the relationship reached by the number of cooperative law enforcement initiatives, particularly since the Bali bombings. But there’s also a freeze in aspects of the security relationship between the two countries and so the police-to-police relationship now is at an inflection point. 

This Special Report examines the history of the AFP–POLRI relationship, articulates its many benefits, and then develops near- and long-term strategies for future police cooperation.
The key recommendations for consolidating the close police relationship include people-to-people activities. The 10-year anniversary of the highly-successful Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) presents a good opportunity to highlight successful ties. Australia should also invite POLRI officers to Canberra to assist with the security arrangements for the November G20 meeting.

In the longer-term, Australia and Indonesia should leverage police cooperation as a way to add ballast to the bilateral relationship. This should include bringing more POLRI officers to Australia on long-duration secondments, creating a police alumni association, and making more extensive use of the JCLEC to train provincial-level police officers in Indonesia. New initiatives to share criminal threat information with business, particularly in Indonesia, would also be welcome. Regional conditions also provide great opportunities to work together to deliver police development training to the Myanmar Police. Such cooperation would not only leverage the substantial investment that’s already been made in the relationship—it would also add depth and demonstrate the practical value of Indonesian–Australian cooperation, now and in the future.

Strategic Insights: Taking wing: Time to decide on the F-35 Joint Strike

ASPI has released ‘Strategic Insights: Taking wing: Time to decide on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’ by Andrew Davies and Harry White. Download a copy of this report here.

The government is about to make a decision on whether to spend between $8 and 10 billion of taxpayer’s money on the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It’s also an important call because it will cement the F-35 as the main instrument of Australian air-power for decades into the future.

The F-35 has a troubled past—management issues and the enormous complexity of the project have caused significant cost and schedule overruns. But now it seems to be on track to come into service with the RAAF in 2020, and to be a very capable aircraft.

The other option is a further purchase of less-advanced Super Hornets, which would come with a marginally lower price tag. But that choice would come at a cost to Canberra’s relationship with Washington as we pulled out of the US-run program, and provide less capability in a region replete with rapid military modernisation.

ASPI releases Strategic Insight: Manufacturing partners: Japan–South Korea security cooperation and Australia’s potential role

Today ASPI releases ‘Strategic Insight: Manufacturing partners: Japan–South Korea security cooperation and Australia’s potential role’ by Hayley Channer. Download a copy of this report here.

In Asia, Australia has no closer strategic and ideological partners than Japan and South Korea. Our similar strategic outlooks, economic ties, alliances with the US and liberal democratic values make us highly compatible partners. But while Australia’s bilateral relations are trending upwards, the Japan–ROK relationship has been spiralling downwards.

Problems in Japan–ROK relations are nothing new, but since two bilateral military accords fell through in mid-2012 the relationship has deteriorated to its lowest point in decades. It’s becoming apparent that the two countries could benefit from outside intervention to facilitate deeper cooperation.

Australia is emerging as a potentially effective facilitator of Japan–ROK security cooperation. Australia could ‘manufacture’ a closer security partnership between the two and achieve multiple strategic objectives through trilateral security cooperation.

This paper identifies how Australia fits into Japan–ROK cooperation, the merits and pitfalls of trilateral security cooperation, and whether it’s in Australia’s interests to pursue such an initiative. It draws on over thirty interviews with Japanese, South Korean and Australian specialists, media coverage, alliance theory, and academic analysis to provide recommendations to the government on how Australia can take a more proactive role in developing relations with and between Tokyo and Seoul and tackling regional security challenges.

ASPI releases: A rising power looks down under: Chinese perspectives on Australia

Thursday 6th March 2014– The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has today released a Strategy Report by Dr Jingdong Yuan: A rising power looks down under: Chinese perspectives on Australia. Click here to download a PDF copy of the report. 

Sino-Australian diplomatic, economic and security ties have experienced significant growth over the past four decades. The general trends have been positive, especially in the economic area, where the two countries have developed strong and mutually beneficial interdependence. However, bilateral relations periodically encounter difficulties and occasionally suffer major setbacks, largely due to differences in ideologies and sociopolitical systems, issues such as Tibet, Taiwan and human rights, and emerging challenges ranging from cybersecurity to the geostrategic shift in the region marked by China’s rise and the US’s rebalancing to Asia.

While there have been substantive debates in Australia on the implications of China’s rise, much less is known about Chinese perspectives on Australia.

To help understand Chinese views of Australia, the paper develops its analysis by drawing from four main sources:

·         official Chinese documents and leaders’ statements as reported in the media or recorded in official dossiers

·         academic analyses published in scholarly journals

·         media coverage of Sino-Australian relations and Australian issues in general

·         a series of interviews the author has conducted with specialists in Chinese think tanks and academic institutions.

Chinese analysts are paying closer attention not only to Australia–US relations, but also to Australia’s aspirations and role as a proactive and creative middle power in regional and global affairs, especially where Canberra’s diplomacy affects issues important to Beijing. Those areas range from nuclear arms control and disarmament, humanitarian interventions and trade negotiations to maritime territorial disputes.

China’s rise offers opportunities as much as it presents challenges to Australian foreign policy.

Australia needs a stable international environment and continued economic growth. A realistic, stable, and forward-looking relationship with China is imperative.

The paper says the Abbott government should have a China policy that’s the result of multi-agency consultation, bipartisan support and internal cohesion within the Coalition and is presented in a unified voice. Canberra should be results-oriented and problem-solving to promote national interests and place less emphasis and diplomatic capital on merely making political statements and grandstanding, which mightn’t be as effective as wished for and, at worst, could be counterproductive.

Dr Jingdong Yuan is Associate Professor at the Centre for International Security Studies and the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, where he is also an academic member of the China Studies Centre.

CIGI-ASPI major report provides roadmap for Canada and Australia to contribute to regional stability in Asia-Pacific

A new special report published by The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) calls for Canada and Australia to deepen their regional security cooperation in East Asia.

Directed by CIGI Distinguished Fellow Len Edwards and ASPI Executive Director Peter Jennings, the year-and-half long study involved intensive consultations with key regional experts and policymakers in the Asia-Pacific. Its final recommendations are contained in the study’s final report, Facing West, Facing North: Canada and Australia in East Asia.  The report was presented today at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute’s 2014 Ottawa Conference and will be presented at the 2014 Australia-Canada Economic Leadership in Melbourne, Australia.

The risk of regional instability is growing…due to China’s re-emergence, continued speculation about US strategic engagement in Asia and increased competition over disputed maritime boundaries,” says the report. “These developments provide opportunities for collaboration between countries like Canada and Australia. Non-traditional security threats, including natural disasters, climate change, food security and cyber security, point to a range of areas where the two countries can work more closely together.

The report calls for Canada and Australia to pursue the following:

  • Align their separate defence and security engagement activities in East Asia, share lessons learned and look for ways to maximize their separate and collective impact in cooperating with regional friends.
  • Work to strengthen regional capabilities in ways that add to stability, in particular, in the areas of peacekeeping skills, counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and cyber resilience. They can also work with others to make regional security governance more effective.
  • Deepen their individual defence and security dialogues and look for cost effective ways to do more together across a broad sweep of areas from exercises to defence reform planning.
  • Find ways to align defence procurement plans to find cost savings and share best practices on equipment procurement. Their reputation as reliable suppliers of freely traded agricultural and energy products should also be strengthened.

“Canada and Australia have both emphasized aspects of their ties to Asia — for Australia, its proximity to the region, and for Canada, its significant Asian population — and both have a national interest in contributing to regional peace and security in a region both identify as the driver of their future prosperity,” says the report. “Combined with their ambitions for closer trade and investment ties with Asia, the two countries have a genuine interest in contributing to peace and security in the world’s most economically vibrant region.”

The report contains several policy recommendations for Canada and Australia to:

  • Strengthen regional security
  • Bolster regional governance mechanisms
  • Enhance bilateral defence cooperation
  • Boost defence industry and economic cooperation

To download a free PDF copy of Facing West, Facing North: Canada and Australia in East Asia, please click here.

Release of ASPI Strategic Insights: Afghanistan—transition to transformation: a role for Australia in helping shape Afghanistan’s future

On 31 December 2014, Afghanistan will move from a UN-led period of ‘transition’ (2001–2014) to an Afghan-led and -owned ‘transformation decade’ (2015–2024). During transition, the UN has sought to rebuild the basic political, economic and societal infrastructure of Afghanistan. The US and NATO, including Australian forces, which comprise the International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan (ISAF), have had the lead responsibility for Afghanistan’s national security during this period.

The transformation decade will seek to consolidate and build on the outcomes of transition to ensure Afghanistan’s future as a functional, stable and durable state. The Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) will have the lead responsibility for national security during transformation.

Although transition still has nearly a year to go, the end-of-2014 scorecard is expected to be a mix of positives and negatives.

Unless a major turn-around occurs, most national and foreign interlocutors interviewed for this report view Afghanistan’s short and longer term future with varying degrees of pessimism.

There’s a role for Australia including working unilaterally and with other nations, to help shape Afghanistan’s future. We’ve already publicly committed, on a bipartisan basis, to the long-term security, trade and development of Afghanistan after 2014. This report details other approaches including lobbying Afghan politicians to commit to their responsibilities for building the future; improve effectiveness of aid; support multinational, regional and donor countries initiatives to promote political, security and economic cooperation and development that will benefit Afghanistan and its neighbours; utilising other means and opportunities as they arise by using the resources and influence derived from our current membership of the UN Security Council.

You can read the report, authored by Ian Dudgeon, here.

Contact: Cassandra Joyce

Phone: 02 6270 5148