It's a hawkish new strategy for an uncertain new world. On Wednesday, the Federal Government unveiled a significant shift in Australia's strategic posture that could reshape foreign and defence policy for years to come. The headlines about the Defence Strategic Update have focused on the big dollar figures and lethal new hardware being touted by the Coalition.
But it's worth looking harder at the fine print of the document to try and glean clues about how Australia will navigate the increasingly treacherous shoals of 21st century geopolitics.
Scott Morrison warned that the world after COVID-19 would be "poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly".
Defence planners are paid to prepare for the very worst, but the outlook in the Defence Strategic Update is still strikingly grim.
While launching the new strategy, the Prime Minister painted a bleak picture of a globe beset by distrust and surging geopolitical tensions....MORE
