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John Blaxland

Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University
John Blaxland is Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies, and was recently appointed Official Historian of the Australian Signals Directorate and commissioned to write a two-volume history of ASD. He is a former Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, and the first Australian recipient of a US Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative grant examining great power contestation in Southeast Asia. John holds a PhD in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, an MA in History from ANU and a BA (Hons 1) from UNSW. He is a graduate of the Royal Thai Army Command & Staff College (dux, foreign students) and the Royal Military College, Duntroon (Blamey Scholar). He has extensive experience in the intelligence community including as the principal intelligence staff officer (S2) for the Australian infantry brigade deployed to East Timor in September 1999, as an intelligence exchange officer in Washington DC, and as Director Joint Intelligence Operations (J2), at Headquarters Joint Operations Command. In addition he was Australia’s Defence Attaché to Thailand and Myanmar. At ANU, he teaches undergraduate students a course entitled “Honeypots and Overcoats: Australian Intelligence in the World”. His publications include: The Secret Cold War: The Official History of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation 1975-1989 (2016); East Timor Intervention (2015); The Protest Years (2015): The Australian Army From Whitlam to Howard (2014); Strategic Cousins (2006); Revisiting Counterinsurgency (2006); Information era Manoeuvre (2003); Signals: Swift and Sure (1998); and Organising an Army: The Australian Experience 1957-1965 (1989).

Calling in the army for the vaccine rollout and every other emergency shows how ill-prepared we are

Jun 07, 2021 23:44 pm UTC| Health

News the armys Lieutenant General John JJ Frewen has been picked to lead a new COVID-19 vaccination task force has prompted fresh discussion of the defence forces role in Australia. Frewen, already the commander of the...

Global Geopolitics Series

China does not want war, at least not yet. It's playing the long game

May 09, 2021 09:03 am UTC| Politics

Talk of war has become louder in recent days, but the drumbeat has been heard for some time now as Chinas military capabilities have grown. China does not want war, at least not yet. Its playing the long game and its...

Economy

Oil Prices Head for 21% Monthly Surge as Middle East Conflict Fuels Supply Fears

Oil prices edged higher during Asian trading on Friday and remained on track for their strongest monthly performance since March, as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran fueled concerns over prolonged...

Japan Yen Surges on Reported FX Intervention as Dollar Slides After Fed, BoE Holds Rates

The Japanese yen posted its biggest gain against the U.S. dollar since late April after reports suggested Japanese authorities intervened in the foreign exchange market by buying yen and selling dollars. The move came as...

South Korea’s KOSPI Soars as Samsung, SK Hynix Rebound on Microsoft-Fueled AI Rally

South Koreas benchmark KOSPI index surged more than 16% on Friday, staging a powerful recovery after one of its sharpest weekly selloffs, as technology heavyweight stocks Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rallied alongside...

China PMI Falls Into Contraction as Manufacturing, Services Weaken in July

Chinas economic recovery lost momentum in July as both manufacturing and services activity unexpectedly slipped into contraction, highlighting persistent weakness in domestic demand despite resilient exports. Official data...

US Stock Futures Rise as Amazon Earnings Boost AI Optimism Despite Apple Selloff

U.S. stock index futures moved higher late Thursday after strong quarterly results from Amazon and Microsoft renewed investor confidence in artificial intelligence, although gains were capped by a sharp decline in Apple...

Politics

Suez Canal Shipping Faces New Risk After Drone Strike on Gas Tankers in Egypt

A drone strike that ignited fires aboard two gas vessels at Egypts Damietta port has heightened concerns over the security of the Suez Canal, one of the worlds most important energy shipping routes, as the U.S.-Iran...

Lebanon Lawyers Seek Probe Into Banker Over Alleged Netanyahu Dinner in Washington

A group of Lebanese lawyers has filed a legal complaint urging the countrys top prosecutor to investigate prominent banker Antoun Sehnaoui over allegations that he co-hosted a dinner in Washington attended by Israeli Prime...

U.S. Launches Air Strikes on Iran After Alleged Missile Attack on American Forces

The United States launched air strikes against targets in Iran on Wednesday night, marking a sharp escalation in tensions across the Middle East following what Washington described as an attempted Iranian attack on U.S....

New Jewish-Arab Party Seeks Young Voters Ahead of Israel Election Amid Debate Over Arab Vote

A newly formed Jewish-Arab political party is aiming to attract younger voters ahead of Israels October 27 parliamentary election, but critics argue its emergence could divide the Arab vote and strengthen Prime Minister...

Oman Proposes Strait of Hormuz Plan as U.S. Rejects Iran Shipping Fee Idea

Oman has presented Iran with a Gulf-backed proposal to help manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, including a system of voluntary contributions from vessels, according to Reuters sources. The initiative aims to...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Amazon Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates as AWS AI Growth Surges, But Q3 Revenue Forecast Disappoints

Amazon exceeded Wall Street expectations for second-quarter revenue, driven by rapid growth in its cloud computing business and rising demand for artificial intelligence services. However, the companys weaker-than-expected...

Apple Q3 Earnings Beat as Record iPhone Sales Offset Services, China Weakness

Apple delivered stronger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results, driven by record June-quarter iPhone sales that reinforced the strength of its core smartphone business. Despite the earnings beat, Apple shares fell...

Sony Eyes $1.3 Billion Tamron Acquisition as Lens Maker Reviews Offer

Tamron (TYO:7740) confirmed Thursday that it has received a non-binding acquisition proposal from Sony (TYO:6758), following reports that the potential deal could be worth approximately 200 billion yen ($1.3 billion). The...

Samsung Q2 Profit Surges on AI Memory Chip Demand, Forecasts Strong Second Half

Samsung Electronics reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, driven by soaring demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips as global investment in AI infrastructure continued to accelerate. For the...

Russia Charges Telegram Founder Pavel Durov With Facilitating Terrorism, Seeks International Arrest

Russia has formally charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity, accusing the messaging platform of being used by Ukrainian intelligence services to recruit operatives and organize attacks...