Australia

Much to the disappointment of Agricultural Minister David Littleproud, in February the Australian Agricultural Visa (“Ag Visa”) was reportedly rejected by Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam. These were three of the four nations invited to join the scheme (Indonesia, which expressed interest,

There can be little doubt that the conduct of Australian trade policy will become more complex and challenging for the foreseeable future. Two trends are salient. First, with the deterioration in global geopolitical circumstances, trade policy and foreign and strategic policy have increasingly

Moscow’s latest invasion of Ukraine has turned Vladimir Putin’s Russia into a pariah state, essentially overnight, and seen the country saddled with an unprecedented international sanction regime. The long-term implications of freezing cooperation and dialogue with Russia are significant –

The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. Likewise, there may not be an instinctive alignment of my two adversaries. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s reference to “arc of autocracy” and the “instinctive” alignment between Russia and China in the address at the Lowy Institute was

Demolition job It’s now only about 16 months since the newly elected Joe Biden team created a ripple of excitement in Washington by registering buildbackbetter.gov as the first sign of the ambitious new “New Deal” underway. The catchphrase for Biden’s roughly US$2 trillion Rooseveltian

The national dignity conferred by true independence warrants the best possible constitutional model for an Australian republic. But one of the main stumbling blocks to Australia moving from constitutional monarchy is the uncertainty around what model should replace it. While serious discussion of

Vladimir Putin’s ruthless bid to erase Ukraine’s nationhood and redraw the map in Europe is a direct attack on the foundations of the post-war rules-based order, from which Australia has benefitted more than most. A Russian fait accompli in Ukraine would also boost the idea that might makes

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has seen a return to the political alignments of the 20th century, with the United States as the leader of a grouping of democracies against a Russian dictatorship uneasily partnered with China. But Donald Trump has offered a radically different response,

Just after lunchtime Thursday 17 February, China for the first time undertook grey zone actions in the seas close to Australia. There have been many earlier cyber intrusions targeting Australian government and commercial sites but this was the first time physical actions have been taken against

Lesson 1:  The era of state-on-state conflict is still with us The idea that war between nations has become an anachronism over the last 40 years has some statistical support, but evidence from the post-Cold War period of relative peace needs to be weighed against hundreds of years of

Australia’s foreign and security policy successes, stretching back to its first days as a Commonweath, are few and far between. More often, it has been a bit player, bumptious and condescending to its neighbours while remaining deeply deferential towards its principal protectors. Given the many

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s visit last week to Australia – his first as India’s External Affairs minister – provides a fillip to the bilateral relationship. Jaishankar's main reason for the trip was to participate in the Quad, the regional dialogue also involving the United States and Japan.

It was Christmas Eve 2021 when reports emerged about the Tatmadaw – Myanmar’s military – killing and burning 35 people in Kayah State, Eastern Myanmar. Of those killed and burned, four were children and two were humanitarian workers from Save the Children. Reports of indiscriminate attacks

Covid-19 has been particularly disastrous for the United States, the United Kingdom and Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. These countries have experienced extraordinarily high case numbers and deaths, hospitals full and turning away patients, government

The pre-Christmas announcement that Solomon Islands’ government was going to accept China’s offer of six police advisers and a swag of emergency riot equipment generated consternation in Canberra. The ABC’s Andrew Greene reported discomfit from his “defence and diplomatic” sources. The

Indonesia suffers from some of the highest food prices in Southeast Asia. Over the past decade, government policies focussed on food self-sufficiency have contributed to this problem. As its economic policies are thrust into the spotlight upon its first-time leadership of the G20 grouping, Indonesia

After the Czech doubles player Renata Voracova was deported from Australia last week following her visa cancellation for not meeting a requirement for non-citizens to be vaccinated against Covid-19, it became obvious that Novak Djokovic would soon be subject to the same fate. The Australian

Time may be linear, but history really can play tricks and throw up oddities of connection. Take the tennis. Just over a century ago – a Sunday, 28 June 1914, a 19-year-old named Gavrilo Princip shot dead Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, and his wife Sophie in

The buzz about an impending big announcement started the night before. But when the leaders from Australia, the United Kingdom and United States stood in a virtual press conference on 16 September to reveal Australia would eventually acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Sam Roggeveen’s first

US officials regularly present China as an aggressive and expansionist military power while Chinese state sources criticise the United States in similar terms. The verbal sparring has only increased concern about the prospect of a future war between China and the United States, with Australia as a

These Birks were made for walkin’ In the end it seems, like politics, all trade is local. It has been a big year for reshoring, diversification, logistics log jams and, as Joe Biden memorably told his voters, “something called supply chains”. And all that has filled plenty of media and

Moon Jae-in’s visit to Australia brought out a troubling fact – amid the China threat hullabaloo, the ability to objectively analyse other diplomatic relationships has declined. Reported in Australia, the visit predominantly concerned strategy. The purchase of Hanwha’s K-9 howitzer and

Our end-of-year series as the Lowy Institute staff offer their favourite books, articles, films or TV programs for 2021. Watch for more recommendations and reflections in the days ahead. –Eds. Another year of lockdowns. If 2020, was the year of the sourdough ­– which by the way

Unease about so-called “grey zone” tactics is increasingly in vogue. From a position of relative obscurity, the term has surged onto the official agenda. There was no mention of “grey zone” in Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper, but it appears 11 times in the 2020 Defence Strategic