The Listening Post, issue 14

This issue examines:

• China’s evacuation of its nationals from Sudan
• US President Joe Biden’s last minute cancellation of visit to Papua New Guinea and Quad meeting in Sydney
• the Defence Strategic Review.

Our senior research fellows consider how China has gone about evacuating its nationals as the civil conflict between the Rapid Support Forces – a paramilitary group battling for control of the Sudan – and the Sudanese Armed Forces has escalated since 15 April.

US President Joe Biden had been set to be the first sitting US President in recent history to visit a Pacific island nation (excluding US Pacific territories) but has cancelled his PNG visit as concerns about US debt ceiling negotiations mounted.

With the recent release of the Defence Strategic Review (DSR), the issue suggests careful consideration will be required to address challenges such as:

• how the DSR is to be implemented
• how it can be adequately funding
• what a pivot from Defence of Australia to a ‘DOA-Plus’ posture means
• how to develop the granular detail on operational art the DSR implies.

Authors