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    Policy

    Foreign Affairs & Security

    Today

    George Clooney has withdrawn his support for Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy.

    Democrats simmer over no-win dilemma as Biden support ebbs away

    President Joe Biden is losing political traction on Capitol Hill as congressional Democrats count the cost of his determination to stay in the race.

    • Jennifer Hewett

    Yesterday

    US President Joe Biden stands with fellow NATO leaders during a group photo in Washington DC for the alliance’s 75th anniversary.

    Ukraine remains NATO’s pressing test of global relevance

    The shadow that hangs over NATO’s 75th birthday is a strange brew of populism that now endangers the alliance’s claim to modern strategic relevance.

    • The AFR View
    For the first time, Australia is mentioning shadowy Chinese cyber wardare organisations by name.

    Asian allies key to our cyberdefence against China

    Japan and South Korea have for the first time joined Five Eyes allies led by Australia in directly calling out Chinese cyberattacks, but more can be done.

    • Alastair MacGibbon
    In early 2022, Malcolm Turnbull was having discussions in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron about getting the French nuclear submarine contract back on track.

    Revealed: Turnbull’s Paris option to revive French subs deal

    Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull paved the way for Australia to renegotiate the French submarine contract when Labor came to power, but there was silence from the new government.

    • James Curran
    President Joe Biden delivers a NATO summit welcome speech.

    Inside the Democrats’ fight over Biden

    Hosting the NATO summit was supposed to help the US president demonstrate unity within the Democratic Party. But it is tearing itself apart.

    • Jennifer Hewett
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    This Month

    Foreign Minister Penny Wong has criticised malicious foreign cyber activities.

    Where do Australia’s China ties go after hack?

    The public outing only raises the question of where Australia takes the matter from here, and what it expects China to do.

    • The AFR View
     SSNs, as these submarines are referred to in military parlance, are incredibly powerful assets capable of multiple roles.

    Control of the sea is worth gambling on AUKUS

    To any objective observer it is apparent acquiring nuclear-powered submarines has significant advantages for national security. However, these come with major costs and risks.

    • Richard Dunley
    President Joe Biden.

    Confused despair grips Democratic voters

    Joe Biden seems to be revelling in his determination to once again prove his doubters wrong. The Trump campaign is confident it ensures their victory on November 5.

    • Jennifer Hewett

    Immigration is the reason swing states are turning back to Trump

    Joe Biden is still betting big he can move key swing states his way, but Arizona was shifting back to Trump well before that debate. Jennifer Hewett reports from the south-west.

    • Jennifer Hewett

    Pezzullo bangs the war drums against placating an ‘imagined China’

    The former Home Affairs secretary does not, however, present a philosophy of international relations that might form a basis for Australia’s position in the world.

    • James Curran

    There is no catastrophic failure of AUKUS Plan A

    The “optimal pathway” may not run exactly to plan, but the risk is known, is being managed, and all three partners have demonstrated their commitment to the process.

    • Jennifer Parker
    NA

    AUKUS future is resting on belief alone

    Defence and government figures brim with confidence over Australia’s nuclear submarine program, but there’s no Plan B and – to some – there’s an air of desperation.

    • James Curran

    AUKUS ‘moonshot’ may be a tragically expensive failure

    It is alarming that both Coalition and Labor politicians fail to acknowledge the risk that Australia could be left with no submarine capability by the end of the 2030s.

    • James Curran
    Peter Briggs, Paul Greenfield, Jon Stanford

    ‘A cruel joke’: Why AUKUS might leave Australia stranded

    A group of defence experts says that the Albanese government is on course for a financial and strategic AUKUS disaster, in the final part of an exclusive series.

    • James Curran
    James Curran’s AUKUS series is timely.

    On AUKUS, Australia must catch up, not start again – yet again

    Australia’s political, diplomatic and defence chiefs need to work with AUKUS counterparts in America and Britain to find a way through the gridlock.

    • The AFR View
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    Scott Morrison incurred the wrath of French President Emmanuel Macron when he announced the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal with UK PM Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden.

    Morrison’s ‘longest night’: Inside the making of AUKUS

    The military agreement is a mess and risks leaving Australia with no submarine capability at all by the late 2030s. The cloak of secrecy that secured the deal could now be its undoing.

    • James Curran

    June

    Sir Keith Starmer is in the box seat as the UK heads to the polls on July 4.

    Will Keir Starmer go wobbly on AUKUS?

    The fantasy of a post-Brexit “global Britain” is gone, but British Labour says it will be everywhere around the world, and all at once.

    • James Curran
    Xinhua

    We must consider imposing non-military costs on China

    We are failing to deter China from committing increasingly frequent acts of aggression and intimidation against Taiwan.

    • John Lee
    French President Emmanuel Macron.

    A stock trader’s guide to navigating the French election

    The prospect of a change in the balance of power in France has investors on edge. These are the sectors most affected by the coming political upheaval.

    • Sagarika Jaisinghani, Verena Sepp and Julien Ponthus
    Jewish men inspect a damaged road after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip.

    What Israel’s ultra-orthodox draft means for Netanyahu

    The Israeli Prime Minister relies on the support of minority parties to hold on to power. The court ruling has put some of them offside.

    • Melanie Lidman