Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Australia is building a more mobile and dispersed Army, designed to operate across the country’s northern approaches and project land power into the littoral. New landing craft, long-range fires, armoured and aviation capabilities are central to that shift. But their operational value will depend on whether the logistics infrastructure, services and supply chains behind them can work together as a connected system.

A single database of every company Beijing has designated a 'Little Giant', the SMEs selected to strengthen China’s push into strategic technology sectors, updated as new batches are announced. Cross-linked with ASPI's China Defence Universities Tracker and Critical Technology Tracker, connecting each company to the research institutions and technologies tracked elsewhere in our research. Location, registration code, former names and known aliases for each company.

The AI news is coming thick and fast. OpenAI and Anthropic have called for the industry to pace its development, and to slow down if necessary so safety research can catch up, amid warnings from frontier researchers about the risks posed by increasingly powerful systems. But US President Donald Trump and his allies have ridiculed the idea that AI could threaten humanity, arguing the priority is staying ahead of China.

ASPI is looking for an experienced, high-performing China analyst or senior analyst with strong strategic judgement, leadership and policy experience ASPI is one of the Indo-Pacific’s most influential think tanks, with globally renowned initiatives such as the China Defence University Tracker Join a progressive organisation with a vibrant organisational culture ASPI is an independent, non-partisan think tank that produces expert and timely advice for political, strategic and security leaders...

15 September 2026 The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has released a September 2026 expansion of the China Defence Universities Tracker (CDUT), extending coverage to Hong Kong and Macau universities for the first time and adding new Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) institutes. Developed by ASPI’s Cyber, Technology and Security Program, CDUT maps how China’s military-civil fusion strategy runs through its universities, research institutes and companies.

With the digital duty of care, Labor wants to let us opt out of social media algorithms. That’s an OK start, but we should have more than just two options. Forgive me my pedantry, but if Australia is going to regulate social media algorithms, we should be precise about what an algorithm actually is. Discussion of the Albanese governmentʼs proposed digital duty of care has been framed in the media as giving Australians the ability to “turn off” or “opt out of” social media algorithms.

The new economics of global waterways are taking shape, influenced by the dissolution of many agreed international norms, laws and key principles of maritime trade. The US–Iran War has many focused on negotiating a deal to keep the Strait of Hormuz toll-free, but little attention has been paid to the precedent such a toll may set. Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has flow-on trade effects for Australia, as would any fees that might be applied for passage.

Venezuela is poised to quickly acquire Chinese AI-enabled surveillance tools. The Venezuelan government has signed an agreement to acquire them, and officials have stated their intention to integrate them into Venezuela’s current surveillance regime. This could further entrench Venezuela’s already formidable surveillance capabilities.

About the Artificial Intelligence Masterclass Artificial intelligence is shaping and increasingly rewriting Indo-Pacific nations’ strategic, economic and security planning, often faster than governments and institutions can absorb the implications. Frontier models are advancing at a pace that outstrips the policy conversations needed to channel their immense power safely.

Modern high-intensity conflict consumes fuel, ammunition, equipment and personnel at a pace that can quickly overwhelm peacetime logistics systems. For Australia, that challenge is compounded by geography, with much of the nation’s industrial, maintenance, storage and logistics capacity concentrated in the south and south-east, while forces may need to operate thousands of kilometres to the north.