Abstract Several high profile cyber-attacks have suggested that cyber-weapons are as important a force multiplier today as airpower was in 1939. This concept requires further analysis to place the utility of cyber-weapons in context, particularly within the tactical level of conflict. To determine the potential uses of cyber-weapons, this paper examines the recent evidence of cyber- operations in conflict and extrapolates potential utility within a conventional military scenario. From this analysis, the …

The Indo-Pacific Doesn’t Exist Dinner Address by Prof Allan Gyngell President - Australian Institute of International Affairs. ‘It’s a great pleasure to be here and an honour to have been invited to deliver these remarks. I suspect that I am an outlier in this room, though. ‘Although I have spent a lot of my professional life happily hanging around with strategic analysts and military and defence types, my background, and what expertise I have, lies in foreign policy. If, as Von Clausewitz says, war is the …

Closing Address Major General Justin ‘Jake’ Ellwood, DSC Deputy Chief of Army ‘Distinguished guests, delegates, colleagues and friends—I think I can say friends now because I think the last couple of days we’ve actually made a number of really good connections at this seminar and Land Forces in general. ‘So good morning. ‘Today I’ve been given the very daunting task of summarising the outcomes and insights of CALFS. It’s daunting because of the amazing speeches and contributions of all participants, but in …

General Robert B Brown Commanding General, United States Army Pacific Every generation thinks their time is the most complex in history, but it is hard to argue that it has ever been as complex as we find the global environment today, and in the Indo-Pacific region in particular. That complexity is changing the very character of warfare. When I was coming up through the ranks, the ‘fog of war’ was not enough information. This uncertainty was best mitigated through initiative—‘do something’. Now, what is …

Professor Genevieve Bell Distinguished Professor, Florence Violet McKenzie Chair Director, Autonomy, Agency & Assurance, Australian National University ‘Well, so the good news is you were primed for divergent thinking. The bad news is I’m your divergent thinker. So listen, it is my incredible pleasure and privilege to get to be here. Unlike the previous professor I find this a slightly more daunting experience. There’s no nostalgia for me being in a room full of uniforms, mostly just a bit of fear; I fear …

Professor You Ji Head of Department of Government, University of Macau The Indo-Pacific (Indo-Pacific) idea has been around for over a decade. Professor Rory Medcalf raised it as a policy suggestion years ago but the concept remained only academic. 1 Japanese Prime Minister Abe enriched the concept with a component of democratic arch but it was more visionary than substantial as the countries placed their concerns of national interests above the ideational preferences. It was not until President Trump …

Major General Kathyrn Toohey, AM, CSC Head Land Capability ‘Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, ‘I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we are meeting today, the Kaurna people, and pay my respects to their elders, both past and present. ‘It is my pleasure to appear first on this panel of distinguished speakers. ‘Yesterday I spoke at the science and technology conference with two esteemed colleagues—my equivalent in the UK, Major General Chris Tickell, and the Swedish …

The Character of Future Indo-Pacific Land Forces Synthesis This session introduced several new themes to the seminar, including consideration of the role of emerging technologies in the context of land forces; considerations of the roles for, and the decision-making processes for adoption of, emerging technologies; and the changes new technologies might mean for organisational cultures. The challenge of emerging technologies must be viewed in the light of the mix of geo-political factors that increase the …

Deputy Commissioner Glenn Dunbier (NZ Police) Deputy Executive Director, Australian Civil-Military Centre ‘Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr; my fellow panel members Brigadier General Gilbert Toropo, Major General Greg Bilton and Mr Richard Sadleir; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen. ‘My name is Glenn Dunbier and I am very honoured to be here speaking with you today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, and pay my respects …

Mr Richard Sadleir First Assistant Secretary, International Security Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ‘Well thank you, Lieutenant General Burr, Major General Bilton and distinguished guests. It’s a great honour to be here. ‘Let me first acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet—the Kaurna People—and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. ‘It’s a testament to the inclusive character, leadership and worldview of Lieutenant General Burr, Chief of …