This update points to the increasing complexity of our strategic situation and it details our Defence policy response.

According to the report, serious threats to stability continue to emerge from the Middle East while in the Asia-Pacific the strategic landscape is shifting. Relations between the major powers - the United States, Japan, China and India - shape Australia's security environment. At the same time, we are contending with instability in our immediate region, as well as the global threat of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.