Our research

The geopolitics of China and Northeast Asia are vitally important to Australia. The region is home to many of Australia’s largest trading partners, including China, Japan and South Korea, and is a key centre of global economic and strategic activity.

China’s growing economic, military and political influence has significant implications for regional stability, international trade and the rules-based order on which Australia depends for its security and prosperity. At the same time, tensions in Northeast Asia, including disputes in the East China Sea, the Korean Peninsula and across the Taiwan Strait, have the potential to disrupt vital trade routes and affect regional security.

As a middle power with strong economic ties to China and longstanding security alliances with countries such as the United States and Japan, Australia has a strong interest in maintaining a stable, peaceful and prosperous Northeast Asian region while balancing economic engagement with strategic risk management.

Recent publications:

• A Geo-economic Choice: Silicon vs Bio-engineered Semiconductors
• Why Japan must help counter China's presence in the Pacific

Geopolitical risk is a significant consideration for Australia’s supply chains due to the country’s high level of integration into global trade networks and its dependence on international sources of critical goods, technologies and industrial inputs.

Heightened strategic competition among major powers, particularly within the Indo-Pacific region, has increased the potential for disruptions arising from trade restrictions, economic coercion, sanctions, regional conflicts and cyber threats. Such developments can adversely affect the reliability, cost and efficiency of supply chains by constraining access to key markets and production hubs, or by disrupting major maritime transportation routes.

Given Australia’s geographic isolation and reliance on imported manufactured goods, these vulnerabilities underscore the importance of supply chain resilience, diversification and risk mitigation strategies. Consequently, geopolitical risk has emerged as a central concern within Australian economic and national security policy, reflecting the growing recognition that supply chain stability is intrinsically linked to national prosperity and strategic autonomy.

Recent publications:

• Exploring supply chain finance from the perspective of third-party logistics providers

Sovereign capability is of growing importance to Australia as it enhances the nation’s ability to safeguard its security, economic prosperity and strategic autonomy in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment.

Australia can reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers and improve its resilience to external shocks, including geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions and global crises, by maintaining domestic capabilities in critical sectors such as:

• advanced manufacturing
• defence
• energy
• essential supply chains
• technology.

Sovereign capability also enables Australia to respond more effectively to national emergencies and emerging security challenges while preserving freedom of action in the pursuit of its national interests. In the context of defence, sovereign industrial and technological capabilities support operational readiness, sustainment and innovation, ensuring that Australia can generate and maintain critical military potential when access to overseas support may be constrained.

Consequently, strengthening sovereign capability has become a central objective of Australian national security and economic policy, reflecting the close relationship between national resilience, strategic independence and long-term prosperity.

Recent publications:

• Construction starts on RNA research and manufacturing facility for NSW