Asia Pacific Defence Reporter

By APDR

These podcasts are a way of shedding a bit more light on Defence decisions – particularly acquisitions – because the system has become secretive and taxpayers have a right to know what’s going on.&

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FAQs about Asia Pacific Defence Reporter:

How many episodes does Asia Pacific Defence Reporter have?

The podcast currently has 110 episodes available.

Asia Pacific Defence Reporter episodes:

August 25, 2025 Episode 107
Unfortunately the prediction in the previous podcast that the Trump administration will continue down the path of being an unreliable security partner is proving to be correct. US politics is swerving in a dangerous direction of dismantling many aspects of how a government functions - a process that has historical roots. Practical manifestations are things like on the one hand approving the sale of weapons to Ukraine, but on the other hand severely limiting how they can be used. The results of the Elbridge Colby revenue into AUKUS are expected by late November - and we predict that the sale of second-hand nuclear submarines will only go ahead if Australia can meet certain conditions, such as lifting Defence spending to 3.5% of GDP. Finally some speculation about why the Mogami frigate wasn't selected for SEA 3000 two years ago since it's now apparent it was always the preferred choice of the RAN. Could it be that two years ago only the basic Mogami was under construction but by delaying the decision until now the upgraded version is under contract meaning the Navy will get a much bigger ship with twice the number of VLS cells than the ship of 2023?
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20min
August 19, 2025 Episode 106
- The dominant international security event was the disgraceful Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, with the US President fawning and grovelling in front of his war criminal Russian counterpart. The result was nothing positive for Ukraine - no ceasefire and no new sanctions, only talk of territory being given to Russia. It is impossible to comprehend why President Trump cannot understand that it is Russia that launched an unprovoked, illegal invasion of Ukraine. This event has profound implications for Australia, demonstrating once again that the US is no longer a reliable ally. Then a bit more about SEA 3000 and details of how Defence cooked the books, outrageously inflating the price of the TKMS bid designed to deny them a competitive advantage over MHI. Finally, some positives about RoK-Australia defence cooperation. The Koreans are very keen - so Australia now needs to seize the opportunity and make things happen.
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21min
August 11, 2025 Episode 105
Congratulations to Japan and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for their success in being selected as the supplier of General Purpose Frigates under SEA 3000. The attractive features of the Japanese ship are well known - stealth characteristics, high levels of automation, a fixed-face radar array and 32 VLS cells. However, this was followed by a deceitful background briefing by senior Australian figures that was full of provable untruths. This included information suggesting that the losing bid from German supplier TKMS was inflated by Defence using the false pretext that it came with a different set of weapons. No it did not. Without any evidence, Defence had also concluded that TKMS could not meet the schedule when there is ample evidence that they could do so without difficulty. One wonders why a competition even took place when the outcome looks predetermined. Then there's more misleading information from Defence Minister Richard Marles who continues to insist incorrectly that Australia has already reviewed the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine decision. And once again it looks like US President Donald Trump is getting ready to sell out Ukraine.
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19min
August 04, 2025 Episode 104
We promised some analysis of the UK-Australia AUKUS submarine agreement and to describe it as a framework would be generous. It has a lot of standard legal boilerplate about tariffs and tax refunds, but the substance has many gaps. It can be cancelled with 12 months notice and seems to leave all of the power in the hands of the UK government. Next - the US seems to be becoming a less reliable ally on a daily basis. President Donald Trump is now using tariffs as a political cudgel, not just an economic one of very doubtful effectiveness. Defence talks with Australia scheduled for the next few days have been scrapped and it's unclear if the annual AUSMIN talks will go ahead as scheduled. Our government remains supremely confident that no one should worry.
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20min
July 28, 2025 Episode 103
There has been quite a bit of news about AUKUS Pillar One based on the visit to Australia of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier and a couple of Ministers. Apparently there's going to be a 50-year treaty about the AUKUS submarine between our two countries, with the document soon to be tabled in Parliament. This is probably because we can't get a treaty with the US, so let's have one with the UK instead - but it's strategic nonsense and all of the talk of industrial cooperation are just empty words. We buy a lot from the UK and in return they buy nothing from us. Turning to the US, in testimony to the Senate, incoming Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Daryl Caudle has expressed doubts about the ability of industry to produce enough Virginia class submarines for their own needs, let alone Australia's. This information will of course be ignored by our government because it doesn't suit their warped view of reality. And SEA 3000 is reaching a crucial point with the possibility of a winner being selected in the next few days. Assuming that the competition is genuine, it's not helpful that plenty of Australian commentators are telling Japan that they have it in the bag.
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20min
July 21, 2025 Episode 102
Details have come in about the latest US military aid package for Ukraine and it looks to be a disappointment. President Donald Trump has given Russia 50 days to start peace negotiations but that coincides with the start of the Autumn rains when ground campaigning grinds - or bogs - to a halt. Also for the weapons part of the equation - nothing is being given to Ukraine, all of the systems are being sold at normal commercial rates to NATO allies, who will in turn transfer them. In the last few days both PM Anthony Albanese and Richard Marles have said that for Australia what counts is not what we are spending on Defence but rather the capability being acquired. This is exactly the point - the ADF is going backwards. Sacking a few senior military and civilian figures, which is in the pipeline, won't help. Let's do something useful such as acquiring South Korea's equivalent of Patriot - the KM-SAM - and building it in Australia. That would make an important practical difference, but for it to happen needs a major change of mindset within Defence.
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19min
July 14, 2025 Episode 101
This episode coincides with the release of the July-August edition of APDR so there will be some cross referencing. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has started his 6-day visit to China which has sparked the usual conservative talking points about why he has met President Xi four times but has not yet secured an audience with US President and human wrecking ball Donald Trump. PM Albanese is wise avoiding him - any meeting runs the risk of going off the rails and becoming a forum of personal abuse. Then some details of the MEKO 200, the ship being offered for SEA 3000 by Germany's TKMS. It looks like a good low risk strategy based around the Saab 9LV combat management system. Additionally, some - but not all - of the claimed advantages of Japan's upgraded Mogami frigate don't stand up to scrutiny. Also, what on earth is going on with the Henderson maritime precinct in WA and some strange recent comments from Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy. Finally with Patriot missiles in high global demand, let's work with the South Koreans to build the medium range surface-to-air missiles they have developed in Australia.
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20min
July 07, 2025 Episode 100
For the centenary podcast we have chosen a theme - Ukraine. The ongoing fightback against the Russian invasion is relevant to Australia in several ways, including the reliability of the US as an ally and also for the future direction of military technology. The US has again suspended some military aid, and how Vladimir Putin must be rejoicing. The bureaucrat responsible is also the one currently reviewing AUKUS and he may well figure out a way to extract even more cash from gullible Australian politicians and Defence figures. As we have previously tried explaining, the entire procurement structure could be improved overnight and at zero cost by making the system far more transparent and we have drafted a memo for Richard Marles so he doesn't have to do it himself.
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20min
June 30, 2025 Episode 99
The US airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities continue to dominate defence coverage - and in terms of Washington politics everyone has to agree with Donald Trump that they were obliterated. In a future joint operation, Australia would be expected to sing from the same song sheet. Let's not forget that he is continuing to support Russia - and that could have major implications for Australia. But the main theme is the TKMS bid for SEA 3000, the details of which have not come from the company because they would be in breach of Defence NDAs and people would be jailed as a consequence. However, there's enough information around to believe they will offer a low risk solution based on the Saab 9LV CMS and a number of sensors well known to the RAN. At the same time it is possible that Japan has been misled, or at least misdirected - by the insistence of Defence and the government that speed to capability is ahead of everything else.
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20min
June 24, 2025 Episode 98
Even on the very rustic Greek island of Zakynthos, it was impossible to remain isolated from world events such as the airstrikes by Israel and the US on Iran.

While much of the commentary has split along the usual lines of conservatives around the world standing with the US, it is far from clear how close Iran was to producing a nuclear weapon - Israel has been calling wolf on this for the last 20 years.

What was the motivation of President Donald Trump? Apparently he was encouraged by the positive Fox News coverage of Israel's earlier strikes.

As for Australia, there's a very important issue in all of this that no one wants to talk about, namely why are we still blindly following an increasingly erratic Washington administration.
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20min

FAQs about Asia Pacific Defence Reporter:

How many episodes does Asia Pacific Defence Reporter have?

The podcast currently has 110 episodes available.

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