Security and Defence Accounts in Australia (and the Asia Pacific) You Should be Following on Twitter

Natalie Sambhi is an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and editor of ASPI’s blog The Strategist. Natalie’s research interests include Indonesia and Southeast Asian security. She has previously worked at Department of Defence as an analyst. In 2010, she founded Security Scholar, a blog on security and defence issues. You can follow Natalie on Twitter at @SecurityScholar.

There’s a vibrant Twitter community in Australia with a strong interest in security, intelligence and defence issues in the Asia Pacific. If you’re interested in an Australian perspective, here’s a list of recommended tweeters (individual and institutional accounts) you might like to follow.

Most tweets will cover Australia’s alliance with the US; the 2013 Defence White Paper; the US re-balance to the Asia Pacific; ethnic violence; military exercises; the rise of China, India and Indonesia; the Korean peninsula; maritime security; intelligence; the South China Sea and more. But what these Tweeters have all got in common is some experience in understanding and analyzing defence and security issues whether as military officers, researchers, journalists or photographers, and think tank analysts. As many have written extensively about security issues, I encourage you to explore their research and blogs as well.

You can also follow discussion on Australian defence matters via the hashtag #ausdef. For a regional view of our security issues, I’ve included some worthwhile accounts from Southeast Asia as well.

Like all Twitter lists, this is only a starting point and any additions are most welcome.

@AsiaPacSecurity | Joanne Wallis
Lecturer & Convener, Bachelor of Asia-Pacific Security, Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, ANU. Tweets on South Pacific politics and security. Canberra, Australia.

@AlbertPalazzo | Albert Palazzo
Senior Research Fellow @lwscaustralia I’ve published widely on the #Australian #Army and contemporary #military and #ausdef issues. My views are my own. Canberra

@Andrew_Zammit | Andrew Zammit
Research Fellow at the Global Terrorism Research Centre (Monash) and an Editor at Australian Policy Online (Swinburne). Opinions my own, RTs not endorsement. Blogs at The Murphy Raid. Melbourne.

@Andrew_D_ASPI | Andrew J. Davies
Senior Analyst Defence capability.

@APDC_AirPower | Air Power Dev Centre
Air Power Development Centre, Royal Australian Air Force, Canberra, Australia.

@APDR_APAC | APDR
Australian Defence In a Global Context. APDR is the longest standing defence publication in Australia now in its 39th year. Australia.

@ASPI_org |ASPI
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan think tank on Australia’s defence and strategic policy. Canberra, Australia.

@captainbrown | James Brown
Military Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, Australia. Formerly Australian Army officer. Sydney.

@eamonhamilton | Eamon Hamilton
Personal profile, and all views contained are my own. I have a Rubber-Band Powered Blog. Sydney, Australia.

@HodgeMark | Mark Hodge
CEO of DMTC Ltd., defence technology contractor & capability development partner. Views are my own. Retweets are for discussion & debate only. Melbourne, Australia.

@jasminchill | Jasmin C. Hill
Skydiver, rock-climber, scubadiver, nuclear aficionado, general all-round dare-devil & former child television star. My comments are my own. Retweet is not Endorsement. Australia.

@Jim_Molan | Jim Molan
Author, defence and security commentator, consultant, company director, retired army officer.

@KokodaFDN | Kokoda Foundation
Official Twitter account of the Kokoda Foundation. Re-tweets and links are not endorsements of the content.

@KZiesing | Katherine Ziesing
Australian Defence Magazine.

@lwscaustralia | Land Warfare Studies Centre
LWSC is a #future focused #thinktank, exploring land #combat and #Australia’s strategic environment. FF/RT/F does not = endorsement. #ausdef #natsec. Canberra, ACT, Australia.

@newmandala | New Mandala
New Mandala is based at the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific. Online since June 2006.

@PD_SDSC | Peter Dean
Director of Studies at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre- ANU, Lecturer at the Australian Command & Staff College & Editor of Security Challenges Journal. Canberra, ACT Australia.

@RobAyson | Robert Ayson
Asia-Pacific security, global strategic issues and NZ defence/foreign policy; perenially hopeful Tottenham, Brewers & Essendon fan. Bio. Wellington New Zealand.

@Rory_Medcalf | Rory Medcalf
Watching geopolitics in Indo-Pacific Asia. Lowy Institute Program Director, Australia India Institute Associate Director, Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow. Sydney.

@SeaPowerCentre | Sea Power Centre
Sea Power Centre – Australia is the Navy’s think tank. It’s staff conduct research into sea power, maritime strategy and naval history. Canberra, Australia.

@TheBaseLeg | Mike Yeo
Published military aviation photographer. Melbourne-based Singaporean. Website has my photos & I blog/tweet mainly about Asia-Pacific military aviation news. Melbourne, Australia.

Other Interesting Twitter Accounts in the Region

@CSISIndonesia | CSIS Indonesia
Think, Learn, Share Knowledge. CSIS Indonesia. Jakarta, Indonesia.

@DrTimHuxley | Tim Huxley
Student and observer of Asian societies, politics and international relations; philatelist; aviation enthusiast; dad. Singapore.

@DzirhanDefence | Dzirhan Mahadzir
Defence journalist, Malaysia correspondent-Janes Defence Weekly former guest lecturer on military history and strategy, Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

@indomiliter | Indomiliter (In Indonesian)
Akun resmi http://Indomiliter.com – Ajang silaturahmi para pemerhati dan penikmat dunia militer Indonesia. Indonesia.

@ISIS_MY | ISIS Malaysia
Malaysia’s premier, autonomous and non-profit think-tank established in 1983 for objective, independent, and strategic policy research. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

@marhalimabas | Marhalim Abas
Owner of http://www.malaysiandefence.com. Reporting defence and national security issues since 1994, Shah Alam, Malaysia.