The importance of the inner arc to Australian defence policy and planning

This article examines the strategic importance of the inner arc to the evolution of Australia’s defence policy and how it has been perceived both as threat and opportunity. It analyses the classified strategic guidance from the 1950s to the mid-1970s and the subsequent public statements in Defence White Papers until the most recent one in 2009. This article focuses on both the conceptual framework of high-level defence policy and its implementation, but not on the details of military operations or the Australian Defence Force’s activities in the region. The article concludes by discussing the future strategic significance of the ‘arc’ to Australian defence planning out to 2030