FDI Feature Interviews
Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Future
- Thursday, 01 November 2012
- The 2013 Pakistani elections are likely to produce a government that is very similar to the current one with a continuation of existing policies that might best be characterised as “muddling through”.
- The departure of the ISAF forces from Afghanistan in 2014 will have a significant impact on Pakistan because the Afghan security forces would struggle to counter the Taliban. If the Taliban were to retake control of Afghanistan, it would embolden the Pakistani Taliban in their campaign against the Pakistani state.
- A request from a post-2014 Afghan Government to India to assist it in countering the Taliban military threat could result in an indirect, and possibly even a direct, Indo-Pakistani confrontation in Afghanistan.
- For Australia, an increase in Taliban activity after the departure of Coalition forces may lead to a greater number of unauthorised arrivals.
Trends in Afghan-Australia Relations
- Tuesday, 22 May 2012
- Afghanistan’s importance to Australia’s security is essentially the same as it is for all other western countries that are threatened by violent transnational extremism.
- Although major inroads have been made there are concerns that the reduced Australian military presence in Uruzgan Province could undermine the achievements that have been made over the past decade.
- Even after Australian forces withdraw, Australian assistance is particularly sought after in developing Afghanistan’s nascent resources sector and in building educational institutions that can train large numbers of Afghan professionals.
Darwin’s Importance to US Asia-Pacific Strategy
- Thursday, 12 April 2012
As part of the US Government’s landmark decision late last year to strategically refocus to the Asia-Pacific, Lieutenant General Duane Thiessen, who heads Marine Forces Pacific, or MarForPac, spoke to Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe in mid-December last year, about the re-emergence of Australia in US regional strategic calculations and the intensified US commitment to the ANZUS Treaty and the Asia Pacific.
The ADF in Indonesia: Lessons from Operation Padang Assist
- Monday, 02 April 2012
In September 2009, the ADF launched Operation Padang Assist in response to the massive earthquake that devastated the north-western Indonesian archipelago. Reflecting on the mission, Brigadier Mark Brewer, the senior Australian Army official who led the ADF contingent, told Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe about the ADF’s mission objectives and the scale of the disaster relief challenge, the specific challenges in jointly operating in an overseas disaster relief setting, the ADF’s overall achievements and contribution to the operation and the impact of the mission on Australia-Indonesia relations.
The New Zealand Army Today: ‘A More Responsive, Smarter and Adaptable Army’
- Monday, 26 March 2012
As a result of ongoing regional and extra-regional operational deployments, the New Zealand Army has transformed into a land force capable of operating in diverse environments and situations. In this context, Major General Tim Keating, who commands the New Zealand Army, talked to Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe about the Army’s response to ongoing high tempo deployments overseas, the growing importance of coalition interoperability and training, efforts towards modernisation and the Army’s future intentions.
'A Third of the RAN is based in the Indian Ocean’: Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, Chief of the Royal Australian Navy
- Monday, 12 March 2012
At a time of economic turbulence and escalating regional geopolitical challenges the Royal Australian Navy’s chief, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, recently spoke with Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe about the Navy’s ongoing commitments to maritime security in the Pacific Ocean, the increasing pre-eminence of the Indian Ocean, and the dynamics of the Australian defence department’s ongoing Force Posture Review.
‘The Indian Ocean is Fundamental to UK Interests’ - Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, Royal Navy
- Friday, 27 January 2012
Under pressure from unprecedented defence budget cutbacks and perennial operational deployments, the Royal Navy today is confronted by escalating demands on its limited resources. In this context, Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, the Royal Navy’s Commander-in-Chief Fleet, spoke with Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe, and addressed matters such as the changes in the Royal Navy over the last decade, its contribution to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, the importance of the Indian Ocean as a theatre of operations, the implications of defence budget reductions and the growing importance of coalition interoperability.
Nation Building in Afghanistan: Australia’s Contribution to PRT Uruzgan
- Thursday, 15 December 2011
The concept of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) first emerged from US experience in Iraq, and was later transferred to Afghanistan as a necessary capability to facilitate district and provincial-level reconstruction, development and capacity-building programmes. For a number of years Australia has maintained a battle group in Uruzgan Province and has made an important contribution to its PRT mission. Recently, Australian diplomat Bernard Philip, who led the Australian element from August 2010 to August 2011, spoke to FDI’s Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe about the role and composition of PRT Uruzgan, ongoing programs and capacity-building initiatives and the future of the PRT’s mission in Uruzgan.
‘The Search to Understand a Changing Climate Leads Inexorably to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean’ - Dr Tony Fleming, Australian Antarctic Division
- Thursday, 24 November 2011
The impact of climate change is forecast to have major implications for the future of the world’s climate system. According to Dr Tony Fleming, who heads the Australian Antarctic Division, developing an in-depth appreciation of the impact of climate change through scientific research in Antarctica, the Southern Ocean and the southern Indian Ocean will provide valuable information that will help Australia to adapt to its challenges.
Australia and the Rise of China
- Tuesday, 08 November 2011
Dr Paul Monk is a noted Australian public intellectual and the author of Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China (2005) and The West in a Nutshell: Foundations, Fragilities, Futures (2009), among other books. He is a former head of China analysis for the Defence Intelligence Organisation. Earlier this year, Dr Paul Monk was interviewed by FDI’s Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe on the implications of China’s rise for Australia.
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