03 Jul 2020 16:07
Popular Tokyo governor eyes a second term, and maybe more
Yuriko Koike’s re-election is almost certain, and with the national government out of favour, she might not stop there.
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03 Jul 2020 12:07
Australia’s Strategic Update: What it means for Indonesia
Jakarta’s response is likely to be complex and will require deft management by Australian policymakers. -
03 Jul 2020 11:07
COVIDcast: The future of globalisation
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world. -
03 Jul 2020 09:07
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
An illiberal turn across the region has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Australia should take note. -
02 Jul 2020 16:07
Hong Kong: The finishing blow
The new legislation marks the completion of Beijing’s total control and surveillance of every quarter of the PRC. -
02 Jul 2020 16:07
Economic diplomacy: Diversification dilemmas
China, India and Australia are all dealing with the costs and risks of reshoring. -
02 Jul 2020 10:07
Defence Strategic Update 2020: A first assessment
A candid assessment of Australia's challenges, but will the planned measures be enough? -
01 Jul 2020 17:07
India’s TikTok stars collateral damage in Chinese app ban
The move signals that decades of appeasement towards China by a succession of Indian leaders is coming to an end. -
01 Jul 2020 16:07
Canada won’t fall for China’s hostage diplomacy
Releasing Meng Wanzhou wouldn’t raise Canada’s standing with China. Worse, it would betray its closest partner. -
01 Jul 2020 13:07
Morrison’s defence reset
The Prime Minister wants a defence force for a region which is “poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly”. -
01 Jul 2020 09:07
After ASEAN summit, little change on the South China Sea
Despite expectations leaders might collectively rebuke China for its latest actions, the message was more uncertain. -
30 Jun 2020 14:06
Chequebook diplomacy in the Pacific: Not just the big fish
Small donors seeking UN Security Council seats are providing more aid to Pacific nations. -
30 Jun 2020 10:06
International law takes a step towards Asia
With Singapore a venue for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, will more Asian countries use it? -
30 Jun 2020 06:06
China’s pipeline dream in Pakistan
The plan to transport oil across the Himalayas is a logistical nightmare. Post-Covid economics will make it even harder. -
29 Jun 2020 15:06
Solomon Islands gets a lesson in Chinese diplomacy
Thanking Taiwan for aid during the Covid-19 pandemic clashes with the One China policy – at home and in Beijing. -
29 Jun 2020 06:06
China’s charmless offensive
The shine has come off what was once seen as China’s deft ability to make friends and wield influence. -
26 Jun 2020 14:06
Vale Owen Harries 1930–2020
With admirable chutzpah, Owen believed he could influence the international relations of the most powerful country. -
26 Jun 2020 12:06
Hun Manet: A Cambodian dynasty?
The eldest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen is being groomed to take over, but still has to convince key political players. -
26 Jun 2020 09:06
COVIDcast: Hugh White on Coronavirus and Asia’s power balance
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world. -
26 Jun 2020 09:06
Finding compromise in the Chagos Islands saga
The US base on Diego Garcia needn’t be an obstacle to a negotiated settlement of a longstanding sovereignty dispute. -
26 Jun 2020 08:06
Owen Harries: Never the ideologue
The Welsh-born Australian was a master controversialist who played a key role in Washington foreign policy debates. -
25 Jun 2020 15:06
The long wait in Indonesia for a female chief justice in a top court
Indonesia lags in appointing women to key judicial posts and the gender gap in the region is closing at a glacial pace. -
25 Jun 2020 13:06
K-pop “stans” unleashed: Hijacking hashtags for social action
Digital disruption can reflect a growing desire to pair fandom with activism. But such a movement is itself vulnerable. -
25 Jun 2020 10:06
A crowded house on the Bougainville ballot
With independence negotiations looming, hundreds of candidates are running for house seats, and 25 for president. -
25 Jun 2020 07:06
Book Review: What’s holding China’s economy back?
The CCP’s discriminatory hukou system is a great obstacle to changing from world’s factory to a service-driven economy. -
24 Jun 2020 16:06
A pivot to globalism, but grievances lurk
Covid-19 has reminded Australians that multilateralism matters, while the economic shock has yet to play out. -
24 Jun 2020 13:06
Australians look to India more – and don’t always like what they see
Doubts about Indian democracy and its politics suggest the Morrison government has some persuading to do. -
24 Jun 2020 10:06
Australia’s shifting mood on climate change
This year’s intense bushfires seemed like the event that would finally move climate policy. Then came Covid-19. -
24 Jun 2020 06:06
Generation why? Younger Australians wary of United States
Donald Trump is a big part of this story. But there is also a clear gap in attitudes toward China. -
23 Jun 2020 15:06
The goals for Australia to do better
The Sustainable Development Goals are not only for poor nations – they offer a policy roadmap for Australia, too. -
23 Jun 2020 12:06
Can inter-Korean peace be salvaged from the latest wreckage?
Mismatched expectations pose a big problem on the peninsula. -
23 Jun 2020 11:06
Culture, constitution and controversy in Samoa
What’s behind the proposed bills to codify Samoan customs in law? -
23 Jun 2020 06:06
Woe Canada, a second consecutive UN rebuff
Even in a social media age, substance trumps style. There are lessons for Canberra in Ottawa’s Security Council failure. -
22 Jun 2020 15:06
Australia-UK trade agreement: Good, boring policy
A deal between two liberalised economies on opposite sides of the globe can only improve a small number of pain points. -
22 Jun 2020 12:06
Syria: Thumbs down
New sanctions under the so-called Caesar Act might target the regime in Damascus, but the burden will be felt by locals. -
22 Jun 2020 12:06
Australia should support India in the Himalayas
If Canberra wants a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with New Delhi, some courageous steps are needed. -
22 Jun 2020 06:06
Debt threatens Digicel’s Pacific dominance
The sprawling telecoms provider is deep in the red, and it might be the company’s PNG profits that help bail it out. -
19 Jun 2020 14:06
Canberra vs Beijing: A response to Sam Roggeveen
Contrarian views are needed to assess the China risk. And we shouldn’t assume this century will be indisputably China’s. -
19 Jun 2020 13:06
Lessons from the India-China border clashes
China has effectively signalled a new phase in its territorial strategy, which should give Indo-Pacific watchers pause. -
19 Jun 2020 12:06
Morrison’s messages to the “sophisticated state-based cyber actor”
The Prime Minister appears to be sending a warning – that Australia is on to you. -
19 Jun 2020 10:06
COVIDcast: Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Taiwan’s place in the world
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world. -
19 Jun 2020 06:06
Belt and Road means big data and facial recognition, too
China is exporting the same social control technology it employs to monitor its own population. -
18 Jun 2020 16:06
Hard knocks at University of the South Pacific
Claims and counter-claims of corruption have cast a pall over the management of a key regional institution. -
18 Jun 2020 14:06
India-China: Pressure at altitude
A shocking fight in Galwan Valley leaves India with dangerous choices, while China thinks it has an upper hand. -
18 Jun 2020 13:06
Economic diplomacy: Positive globalism and American exceptionalism
Australia strikes an upbeat attitude to global engagement, while a strong US dollar masks a retreating US. -
18 Jun 2020 12:06
Need To Know: Ed Davis on US policing and Black Lives Matter
Many community-minded police leaders complain they are deputised to enforce society’s failures and unfair structures. -
18 Jun 2020 09:06
Closing the book on Asia
The National Library of Australia is curtailing its Southeast Asia collection. The move is not in the national interest. -
18 Jun 2020 07:06
Will Timor-Leste be the region’s latest press freedom casualty?
An new law under the guise of “dignity” would only diminish democracy and transparency in the country. -
17 Jun 2020 15:06
ASEAN Summit: A chance to engage on the Rohingya crisis
The regional body has been notably silent on genocide in Myanmar, ducking behind the myth of non-interference. -
17 Jun 2020 14:06
Canberra vs Beijing: A reply to Alan Dupont
We can’t base plans for the future on a chance China may fail. We are yet to internalise how successful it may be.