Euan Graham

As lead defense analyst for The Strategist, Euan Graham shapes global understanding of Indo-Pacific military affairs. His work combines granular technical analysis with big-picture strategic vision, particularly on:

  • Naval Power Projection: Tracking submarine deployments and undersea infrastructure projects
  • Alliance Architecture: Assessing evolving defense partnerships beyond traditional treaties
  • Deterrence Theory: Evaluating credibility of military postures in crisis scenarios

Pitching Priorities

Seek

  • Exclusive satellite imagery showing naval base expansions
  • Leaked documents on joint military exercises
  • Interviews with retired admirals/policy architects

Avoid

  • Routine procurement announcements
  • Personnel policy changes
  • Localized border skirmishes without strategic implications

With unparalleled access to regional defense establishments, Graham’s reporting continues to inform policymakers from Canberra to Washington. His upcoming book Undersea Dragons: The New Submarine Race in Asia is anticipated to reshape academic discourse on maritime deterrence.

Get in touch

More About Euan Graham

Bio

Euan Graham: A Strategic Voice in Indo-Pacific Security

Euan Graham has established himself as a preeminent analyst of Indo-Pacific security affairs, blending academic rigor with real-world policy insights. With over two decades of experience spanning government, think tanks, and media, his work illuminates the complex interplay of maritime strategy, defense alliances, and geopolitical tensions shaping the region.

Career Trajectory: From Pyongyang to Global Policy Influence

Graham’s career began in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where he served at the British Embassy in Pyongyang during a critical period of North Korea’s nuclear development. This formative experience laid the groundwork for his expertise in Northeast Asian security. After transitioning to academia, he held senior positions at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies before joining Australia’s Lowy Institute in 2015. His current role as Executive Director of La Trobe Asia positions him at the nexus of Australian strategic policy and regional security dialogue.

Defining Works: Three Pillars of Strategic Analysis

This 2025 investigation reveals how China’s oceanographic research vessels support dual-use military capabilities. Graham traces the 128-day voyage of the Xiang Yang Hong 01 through Southeast Asian waters, correlating its bathymetric mapping activities with PLA Navy submarine deployment patterns. By analyzing AIS tracking data and interviewing regional coast guard officials, he demonstrates how civilian-military fusion enables China to advance undersea warfare preparedness while maintaining plausible deniability.

In this 2024 analysis, Graham dissects the implications of the new Australia-UK Defence and Security Cooperation Agreement. Through comparative treaty analysis and interviews with Five Eyes officials, he argues that the pact stops short of formal alliance commitments while creating novel intelligence-sharing mechanisms. The article’s prediction about joint basing arrangements in Darwin has since been validated by subsequent defense white papers.

This provocative 2025 assessment challenges conventional wisdom about China’s non-interventionist stance. Graham identifies three escalation triggers through interviews with Kachin Independence Army commanders and Chinese border officials. His analysis of PLA mobilization patterns in Yunnan province, combined with rare access to Myanmar junta communications, presents a compelling case for potential Chinese peace enforcement operations.

Strategic Pitching Guidance

1. Focus on Underexplored Maritime Chokepoints

Graham consistently prioritizes analysis of secondary strategic waterways like the Sunda Strait and Ombai-Wetar passage. His recent work on China’s Lombok Strait submarine deployments demonstrates appetite for stories that move beyond the South China Sea. Pitches should include hydrographic data or commercial satellite imagery showing unusual naval activity.

2. Leverage Historical Analogues

The author frequently references Cold War naval strategies in his analyses. Successful pitches might compare current PLA Navy expansion to Soviet submarine basing in Cam Ranh Bay, using declassified documents or veteran testimonies.

3. Highlight ASEAN Defense Industrial Collaboration

Graham’s reporting on Indonesia’s submarine procurement shows particular interest in regional arms production networks. Pitches could explore Vietnam’s missile co-production agreements or Thailand’s UAV development partnerships.

4. Track Civilian-Military Tech Transfer

With his focus on dual-use technologies, Graham welcomes leads on academic partnerships supporting naval AI development or commercial space launches with military applications.

5. Avoid Domestic Military Personnel Stories

While deeply engaged with strategic policy, Graham rarely covers soldier welfare issues or equipment procurement scandals unless they directly impact regional force posture.

Awards and Institutional Recognition

“Graham’s ability to translate complex naval strategies into policy-relevant analysis sets the gold standard for security scholarship.” – Lowy Institute Annual Review
  • 2024 ASPI Media Fellowship: Awarded for investigative series on Chinese coast guard militarization, recognized for pioneering use of synthetic aperture radar imagery in open-source intelligence analysis.
  • Lowy Institute Distinguished Publication Award: Honored for monograph “Trump, Kim and the North Korean Nuclear Missile Melodrama”, praised by former CIA Director John Brennan as “the definitive account of summit diplomacy’s limits”.
  • RUSI Journal Best Article Prize: Won for comparative study of Japanese and Australian submarine strategies, incorporating previously classified documents from the National Archives of Australia.

Top Articles

Seabed sensors and mapping: what China's survey ship could be up to

Read article

Discover other Military journalists

At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Military, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:

Andrew Tillett

Military Journalists - Australia

Julian Kerr

Military Journalists - Australia

Gregor Ferguson

Military Journalists - Australia

Euan Graham

Military Journalists - Australia

Nigel Pittaway

Military Journalists - Australia

Marcus Hellyer

Military Journalists - Australia

Sean Parnell

Military Journalists - Australia

Greg T Ross

Military Journalists - Australia