This Policy Analysis, authored by Andrew Davies, examines China's latest paper in its series of biennial Defence White Paper. While still guarded in many respects, the White Paper exhibits greater transparency than some of its predecessors, something the West has been requesting. But more transparent doesn’t automatically translate into more reassuring and Defence of China...

This Special Report reviews the current RAN helicopter fleet, including the annual flying hours and costs. It finds that Navy is doing a fair job at keeping the existing fleet in the air, although the flying hours don’t come cheaply. The loss of the eleven Seasprites means that the Seahawk fleet will have to continue...

This report contains two papers that examine Australia's ability to fund defence into the future and the costs of various future ADF force structures. The first paper, authored by Mark Thomson, explores defence spending into the future and finds that there is no fundamental reason preventing greater expenditure if the government identifies a strategic need...

Australia's military capability edge in the Asian region has been facilitated by a relative economic advantage that is now eroding. Asian militaries are now expanding and acquiring sophisticated capabilities. This paper examines the drivers of this trend and looks at the implications for Australia.

The Australian Army is small by regional standards and tiny given the size of our continent. This paper is the second in the series of capability snapshots produced by ASPI towards the Rudd Government's new Defence White Paper. With over 27,000 permanent and almost 16,000 part-time Reserve personnel, the Australian Army is small by regional...