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For some variety we start with a few words about China's President Xi Jinping undertaking a further purge of the military leaving him in sole command. In the short term this might make an invasion of Taiwan less likely - but in the medium term the situation could be more dangerous. In the US, chaos continues on both the foreign policy and domestic fronts. A question for Australian politicians and national security figures: if US officials, including the President, lie so blatantly to their own people, why should we believe anything that they say? When it comes to decoupling from the US, we might learn a lot more about how Canada is doing so when their Prime Minister Mark Carney visits in March. Canada is seeking to take advantage of the current self-inflicted US brain drain. Australia seems to be moving in the opposite direction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More US-caused turmoil with President Trump cancelling his takeover of Greenland because he has reached a concept of a framework deal with NATO but of course hasn't released any details. But he's replaced that with more threats at Canada, including using violent language, if they go ahead with a trade deal involving China. All the world can see what's happening - with the exception of the Australian government. Then Trump insulted all 1,200 non-US soldiers who died in Afghanistan as part of the ISAF mission claiming it was only Americans who did the fighting. This resulted in enraged pushback from people like UK PM Kier Starmer, who called Trump directly. How did our leaders react - by avoiding any direct criticism of Trump. A notable exception was senior Opposition figure Andrew Hastie who has labelled Trump's words for what they are. And a few thoughts on how Trump is gearing up for a third term. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before discussing the Prime Minister's strange reluctance to call a Royal Commission into the Bondi terrorist attack we have to talk about the increasingly erratic behaviour of Donald Trump. Threats from the US to take over Greenland are increasing, with greater tariffs on European countries now also part of the mix. This is because Trump claimed the Europeans weren't doing enough to defend the island so countries have sent small military delegations there to do some research - but the US President now claims this is an escalation. Here, Defence Minister Richard Marles has responded in his usual spineless fashion refusing to comment on US behaviour saying instead he thinks NATO will remain united when all sensible analysis comes to the opposite conclusion.  It's time for Australia to have an open, mature debate about the nature of the US alliance and what we expect to get out of it. The country expects leadership - and it isn't getting it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a good thing we waited a couple of weeks before commenting on the US attack on Venezuela because the entire thing is getting stranger by the day. It clearly wasn't about regime change and even the logic of seizing oil reserves is looking shaky. It might have been because Donald Trump felt his dancing style was being mocked by the former Venezuelan President. As disturbing as that is, of even more concern is the US threatening again to acquire Greenland - by force, if necessary. This is completely insane and would destroy NATO, but Trump seems to be obsessed with it. If the US continues to destroy the existing rules based order, will Australian politicians finally grow a spine or will they find ever more creative ways to grovel? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We start with a few thoughts on the awful terrorist attack on members of the Jewish community holding a party on Bondi Beach. But we cannot ignore other developments and have some further thoughts about the new US National Security Strategy, which explicitly attacks Europe and gives both Russia and China a leave pass. The official policy of the US is that they will now support European far-right political parties in what is obviously interference in the internal affairs of other nations. People should be outraged - as they would be if China said they planned to do the same thing in Asia. Our politicians won't say anything because they are moral cowards. Finally - instead of buying second hand Virginia class subs from the US, let's buy 40 year old Los Angeles boats instead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The adventure continues with a late arrival in Kashgar - also known as Kashi - and a crowded program of educational and cultural events. The city has a very long history and is a colourful mix of cultures and religions. Then it was a flight to Ili, the capital of the Kazakh autonomous prefecture which was different again from Urumqi and Kashgar. Treats included milk beer and a visit to the former governor's palace - a frequent residence for exiles from eastern parts of China. Then a return to Urumqi for the final part of the tour and one of the most consequential events - a visit to the Exhibition of Counterterrorism and Deradicalisation in Xinjiang. This explained why - in often gruesome detail - why security crackdowns have been necessary. The quick summary of the 8 day program - Xinjiang is friendly, interesting, and well worth a visit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a busy time internationally with the US releasing a shocking National Security Strategy document that throws Europe under a bus and favours improved relations with Russia. Australian politicians need to take note. But also some thoughts on the restructure of Defence so that acquisitions will be done by a separate agency. That's all well and good but the main improvements need to be cultural and attitudinal on the part of Defence managers. Keeping the same people and giving them new titles won't make the slightest difference. The rumours were correct and more aid will go to Ukraine - but given that the US is in the pocket of Russia a lot more will be needed. A final thought - the US is currently siding with China over their ugly war of words with Japan. Why should Australia be any different? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

APDR was invited for a media tour to China’s Xinjiang autonomous region in September and we decided that listeners will be interested in more details than have so far been reported. This podcast is part travel log, part analysis and part personal commentary about the experience. We set the scene with some thoughts about China and the first part of the visit to Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang. Part 2 next week will begin with arriving in Kashgar. Comments on our website asiapacificdefencereporter.com are welcome, as are emails to: [email protected] Abusive content will not be allowed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We start with breaking news of a Defence restructure - though it's too early to tell if it will make a difference. Then - despite the best efforts of many - the government is refusing to close a loophole allowing Russian oil to be sold in Australia, though it is possible that a new aid package is being developed. It can't come fast enough with the US continuing to side with Russia in a plan that would end Ukraine's independence - and we go into the main motivation: greed and the chance for the Trump family and their friends to make untold billions from the situation. Finally some words about why the US is moving towards military action against Venezuela - and that's more greed at work. Australia's politicians have to realise that the US will no longer help Australia unless there's something in it for them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once again, there have been shocking developments regarding US support for Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion. President Trump has given Ukraine an ultimatum that amounts to a surrender or lose his support. In the so-called peace proposal, Russia does not have to make any concessions. It is now obvious that President $Trump is for sale to the highest bidder - and it's time Australian policy makers realised that. The first thing we should do is to provide more aid to Ukraine because despite talking about the rules based order in the last 12 months nothing has been donated to Kiev. Some current Australian policies actually benefit Russia. Finally some words on why Mogami frigates will never be built in Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We start with some more information about the major Indo-Pacific maritime conference in Sydney and the description of it by Defence Minister Richard Marles as a type of Disneyland. Unfortunately, this is emblematic of the trivialisation of Defence topics in this country and partly explains why there has never been a serious discussion about acquiring nuclear powered submarines, or many of the embarrassing details of SEA 3000. Looking internationally, the US is behaving erratically with President Donald Trump now being openly bribed. Is this how a reliable security partner behaves? On top of that, there might be a few more problems coming up for the pace of US submarine construction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Indo-Pacific Maritime Expo had quite a few submarine related news items and we look at a few of them, including about future Combat Management Systems. Unfortunately, most journalists continue to act as government stenographers and are either unable or unwilling to ask any awkward questions about AUKUS. It's not clear why when there are many issues that still need to be understood. To make sure that never happens, the government and coalition have disgracefully joined forces to block a Senate inquiry into the matter. The terms of reference are entirely reasonable and would have provided the Australian people with much needed information - but we can't have that. Some words about South Korea - and they will probably have their own nuclear-powered submarines before the first SSN-AUKUS is even launched. Finally a question - does the ADF believe in extra-judicial killings? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a big week in South Korea with the Presidents of the US and China meeting on the fringes of APEC. Another related development was the US agreeing to help South Korea develop nuclear powered submarines. The Australian reaction has been predictably snarky and ill-tempered as people to start to realise we aren't as special as we have been telling everyone we are. While it's early days, it looks like South Korea will be building new submarines for themselves, not buying second hand clunkers from the US that we have fallen for. Finally, the Trump-Xi meeting looks like it has been a major win for China. No surprise there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before discussing Korean defence industry and the huge ADEX show in Seoul, some words about the state of the US, which seems to be in a political mess. The problem with all the positive coverage of the Donald Trump - Anthony Albanese meeting a week ago is it risks blinding people to the obvious reality that the US might not be in a position to defend anyone. We could be reaching that point much sooner than anyone anticipated - and Australians have to start thinking seriously about that prospect. Thankfully for defence equipment, there are some alternatives, including from South Korean defence industry. The capabilities of the Republic of Korea are extraordinary, and the rate of growth seems to be increasing - and we have a quick look at the KF-21 supersonic jet fighter. A stealth version of it will appear soon - and it will be similar in performance to Australia's F-35s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's happened - the long awaited meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Donald Trump has occurred - and the Australian reporting of it has varied from average to woeful. It could have been much worse - but it has not altered the fundamentals of AUKUS Pillar One. If the US was serious about selling second hand Virginia class submarines to us, President $TRUMP could authorise the deal now with the transfer occurring in the 2030s - but the US won't do that. The critical minerals agreement is just as unnecessary as expected. Back in Australia, there's some very good news about domestic guided weapons manufacture with a three way deal between ourselves, Lockheed Martin and the US. We also ponder why it is that Ministers tell obvious untruths and falsehoods. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.