🇦🇺 and 🇬🇧 foreign & defence ministers are meeting in London for the annual AUKMIN consultations. AUKUS will dominate coverage of the meeting. The ministers can use the opportunity to take back the narrative on the trilateral partnership. Read my views with @AlexBristowASPI ⤵️

SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 We're delighted to announce Admiral David Johnston, @CDF_Aust, will speak at the 2026 ASPI Defence Conference. This year's event will focus on translating strategy into action & turning partnerships into practical advantage. 🔗: bit.ly/3RxeCKC

Beyond submarines: AUKMIN is about collective defence of shared values | @AlexBristowASPI and @BassiJustin | bit.ly/4vyXRNP

Commenting on Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's remarks on 🇨🇳 at the Shangri-La Dialogue, @BassiJustin told the @australian: “He showed the world you could be very upfront about threats but do it in a way that brings others along with you.” 🗞️: bit.ly/4g7E57B

'The Philippines lost a vote. The lesson is that the work of holding the line has moved decidedly to the groupings willing to stand for enforcement,' write @CoreraJames and @BassiJustin. aspistrategist.org.au/philip…

Philippines’ UN loss strengthens case for minilateralism | @CoreraJames and @BassiJustin | bit.ly/3RKIROx

Hard to disagree with @BassiJustin here. We are reminded of indivisibility of the IP and EA by Vietnam’s key note, and Koizumi’s behaviour. The former reminded us how to stand for what we believe. The latter how to behave to underwrite it. aspistrategist.org.au/sorry-…

I had similar thoughts regarding the tendency of Euro-Atlantic leaders to flounce away from the idea of a rules based order, based on nothing more than the outlook of the current US admin. It remains the best version of order on offer. 🫡@BassiJustin aspistrategist.org.au/sorry-…

How are authoritarian regimes using AI to strengthen control? At @OsloFF, ASPI Senior China Analyst @fryan explained how AI is being used to monitor citizens, censor information, spread propaganda and suppress dissent. 📺: bit.ly/3S3yKnT 📚: bit.ly/4oapg6z youtube.com/watch?v=2N7NGM5U…

Today marks 37 years since 4 June 1989, when the PLA, the CCP's private army, massacred the Chinese people they ostensibly serve in Tiananmen Square. As I wrote for @ASPI_org in 2022, we must remember Tiananmen as we support 🇺🇦's fight against tyranny. aspistrategist.org.au/rememb…

'When the vote is called, members should cast their votes for the Philippines, say so publicly before the ballot rather than after, and frame the choice in the region’s own terms – as endorsement of enforcement,' write @CoreraJames and @BassiJustin. aspistrategist.org.au/a-gene…

What's the next step for #AUKUS Pillar II, in terms of advanced undersea warfare? This piece by @ASPI_org 's Executive Director @BassiJustin and myself, explores the technical dimensions of the announcement over the weekend of a new 'signature project' on developing 'enablers and payloads' for uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs), such as @anduriltech 's Ghost Shar XL-UAV, now being developed in Australia. It considers how developing these capabilities better enables the AUKUS partners to defend critical underwater infrastructure, including vital submarine cable networks, from deliberate attack by adversaries such as #China and #Russia. AUKUS Pillar Two lunges for an operational capability – underwater | Malcolm Davis and Justin Bassi | aspistrategist.org.au/aukus-… via @aspi_org

The missing (and critical) component is government owned undersea cable laying & repair ships. Not if, but *when* damage occurs, we need ships on standby for emergency repairs. Great piece by @Dr_M_Davis & @BassiJustin aspistrategist.org.au/aukus-…

A key Shangri La Dialogue theme was that international rules may sometimes sleep but never die. ‘while much of the Indo-Pacific fears great power competition, their greater fear is no competition as it would likely mean the 🇺🇸 leaving the region in 🇨🇳’s hands.’ Read my piece ⤵️

"Democracies are being tested by 🇷🇺 and 🇨🇳 with hybrid threats, including cable cutting... This signals that these acts of sabotage and aggression will no longer be tolerated," @BassiJustin tells @abcnews on the 🇦🇺-🇺🇸-🇬🇧 plan to develop underwater drones. abc.net.au/news/2026-05-30/a…

SESSION SPOTLIGHT 🔦 Don't miss @CAF_Australia, @CN_Australia, @CJOPSAustralia and @ChiefAusArmy in conversation with @Stewart_ASPI at the 2026 ASPI Defence Conference on 25 June in Canberra. 🎫 Limited tickets remain. Secure your spot now: bit.ly/3RxeCKC

NEW REPORT 📌 ASPI has released its Cost of Defence budget brief for 2026-27. It warns the ADF is being asked to “carry the deterrence load with less”, as new defence investment remains backloaded while acquisition and sustainment spending falls. 🔖: bit.ly/3Q2tWyB

When you’re at #ENCORS in Delft this week, come visit me @ASPI_org booth, have a look and get a demo of our data-driven research security tools —> China Defence Universities Tracker; Critical Technology Tracker and more. And join me at the “Masterclass China: informed decision-making in research security” today at 2:30pm. Thanks to @tudelft for hosting this event!

For all its claims of neutrality in the Russian war on Ukraine, China’s political and material support—along with its military training for Russian forces—make it an effective enabler of the war. I write with @BassiJustin in @ASPI_org Strategist | aspistrategist.org.au/the-we…

The West indulges China in its backing for Russia against Ukraine | @raji143 and @BassiJustin | bit.ly/4usgYJr