Australia must rise above its small power pretensions

With the Defence white paper announced later today, John Blaxland says Australia needs to bolster its military muscle with defence diplomacy and embrace its middle power status in the region. With Australia's security commitments in Afghanistan winding down and a new Defence white paper in the pipelines, now is the time to reflect on the future role of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). In particular, Defence's main priority should be establishing Australia as a confident and able middle power in the region by enhancing our defence diplomacy. And it's through 'boats' that we can build bridges.