Australian Strategic Policy Institute

'By becoming a trusted helium source, Australia could gain leverage it has never had in the global semiconductor supply chain. Today, Australia needs the supply chain. With helium, the supply chain would also need Australia. Australian helium need not be the cheapest, but it needs to be one that will still be available if the cheapest source fails,' writes Arup George.

Today ASPI’s AI and Security program was delighted to host Anthropic's Head of National Security, Tarun Chhabra, alongside engineer Andy J. for a roundtable on AI and national security. The discussion included the pace of the technology’s development, the threats and risks and how they might be mitigated, as well as the opportunities the tech is creating. Importantly, it was clear that government and industry will need to work together to both mitigate the risks and leverage the opportunities presented by AI.

What is US President Donald Trump's grand strategy? Last month, ASPI Executive Director Justin Bassi GAICD joined a panel hosted by the United States Studies Centre to discuss the evolving strategic outlook of the United States, the direction of US grand strategy, and what growing uncertainty in the alliance means for Australia and its partners. Justin argued that while Trump may not have a tightly integrated grand strategy in the traditional sense, his behaviour isn't random either: "He's not looking to repeat history, he's looking to beat it, and then create it where he can". 📺 Watch the full conversation ➡️ bit.ly/4saOFgK

Great to share my thoughts on the challenges of a US assault on Iran's Kharg Island with Chelsea Ong AT CNA

'The government attempted to restart the defence industrial base in 2024, but the strategy it issued then had and has a foundational problem. Called the Defence Industrial Development Strategy, it sets up and views Defence as the industry’s prime or only customer. But a sustainable Defence industry needs the international market. It cannot be devoted to the Australian Defence Force alone. The strategy therefore dilutes the value of the industry to national security,' writes Elizabeth Buchanan.

'The Critical Tech Tracker’s 2026 update makes several things clear. China’s research leadership is no longer a trend; it’s a structural condition in most of the domains that will define military capability, economic competitiveness and technological sovereignty over the next two decades. The number of technologies where that lead is now monopolistic (41 of 74, up from 33) means that in a substantial portion of critical domains, the question is no longer how to compete, but how to avoid future technology dependency,' writes Jennifer Wong-Leung.

🎥 𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 🎥 The final two sessions from day one of the Sydney Dialogue 2025 are now online. Catch discussions on ⤵️ 1️⃣ 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗼-𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 — with Tupou Baravilala, Jessica Hunter, Steven Matainaho and Laurel Miller 2️⃣ 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 — featuring Jisoo Kim, YouHao Lai and Selina Xu 📺 Watch now 👉 bit.ly/4bRAlDz 👀 Stay tuned for sessions from day two coming soon.

I encourage anyone interested in strengthening their public policy credentials to sign up to ASPI’s Better Policy Program. Developing good policy demands more than good analysis. It requires practitioners who understand how decisions are really made, can navigate complexity, collaborate across government and translate evidence into advice on which decision-makers can act. This is a great program that helps put quality thinking and written policy into practical action.

ASPI Resident Senior Fellow Rajeswari (Raji) Pillai Rajagopalan spoke to Andy Park on The World Today about her new report on the deepening China–Russia partnership, explaining how China is acting as a key enabler of Russia’s war in Ukraine — including through the supply of dual-use technologies, UAVs and gas turbine engines — and how Russia is in turn supporting China in the Indo-Pacific through increasingly complex and geographically expansive military exercises. 📚 Read the report ➡️ bit.ly/4dij1du 🎧 Listen to the full interview ⤵️