27 Sep 2023
The Kalash are under threat from Pakistani Taliban
A remote and persecuted religious minority is an easy target for militants set on gaining territory by any means.
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26 Sep 2023
ASEAN’s first joint military exercise
A pyrrhic military cooperation or building capability for future contingency? -
21 Sep 2023
China does not need currency manipulation to boost its exports
A weak economy will itself increase China’s export competitiveness. -
20 Sep 2023
How China sees its conflict with the Philippines
Taiwan, the ten-dash line, and an ever-present US are driving a wedge between Manila and Beijing. -
19 Sep 2023
No neutrality in espionage: Why is Malaysia tangled up in a spying case in Norway?
Asking the Kremlin would be a good start. -
18 Sep 2023
Seychelles: Washington comes calling
Small island states are back on the diplomatic agenda with the West looking for strategic depth in the Indian Ocean region. -
15 Sep 2023
Beijing’s plan for Taiwan challenges its offshore wind push
Fujian’s coast hasn’t kept up with wind power in other provinces – and military strategy seems to be blowing the other direction. -
12 Sep 2023
ASEAN, China and the trust deficit
The gap between rhetoric and action is Beijing’s biggest problem – and the region showed it isn’t afraid to call this out. -
11 Sep 2023
India pushes China to the margins of the G20
New multilateral agreements unveiled on the sidelines of the forum show how New Delhi has been working hard to curtail Beijing’s strategic influence. -
8 Sep 2023
Ahead of G20, India-China reconciliation fails to launch
Beijing’s actions speak louder than words. By failing to turn up in Delhi, Xi sent a clear signal that China has little enthusiasm for stabilising relations. -
7 Sep 2023
Is China finally getting serious about hukou reform?
Unless China’s millions of migrant workers gain broader rights, “common prosperity” might turn out to be rhetorical. -
6 Sep 2023
The Fix: Explaining Indonesia’s silence in the North Natuna Sea
Your weekly Interpreter feature about issues, resources or helpful distractions that might otherwise be missed. -
6 Sep 2023
China’s troubles may well get worse before they get better
There is no straightforward path to escape weak demand and the financial risks from the ongoing real estate bust. -
4 Sep 2023
Coup d’État in Gabon: Oil, champagne, and China’s geopolitical opportunity
Local dynamics might be a primary cause of strife, but France’s loss is China’s possible gain. -
4 Sep 2023
Under Xi, the Party is winning but China is losing
Rather than solving problems in foreign relations or the economy at home, a host of new headaches are emerging. -
4 Sep 2023
Climate justice: friendshoring, China’s supremacy and America’s IR Act
The goal of ensuring equitable outcomes through the energy transition must be global. -
1 Sep 2023
Can North Korea play off Russia against China?
Pyongyang might have designs to take advantage of an increasingly desperate Moscow, but power rests with Beijing. -
29 Aug 2023
Cambodia, Thailand and dealing with China: The more things change…
New prime ministers might be in the job, but don’t expect any big shifts in approaches to Beijing. -
22 Aug 2023
India’s hesitation as China pushes for BRICS expansion
New Delhi and Beijing have competing visions for adding new members and where the organisation will focus. -
18 Aug 2023
China’s slowdown is nothing to celebrate
The heady rates of economic growth were always going to fall – but is boom time over for commodities? -
17 Aug 2023
Bridging the divide: the significance of the US-South Korea-Japan trilateral
The Biden administration sees the upcoming summit as historic – China and North Korea may also, for different reasons. -
15 Aug 2023
Pipe dreams: Turning an interconnected ASEAN gas market into a reality
An old idea for a regional network might hold the answer for energy demand into the future. -
14 Aug 2023
The Moon: The great game on new turf
India joins a powerplay with the United States, China and Russia in the hunt for lunar treasure and strategic superiority. -
9 Aug 2023
Iran’s lithium lode: A potential strategic game-changer
Australia might find itself on a political and economic tightrope as China looks to diversify its options for the new oil of our times. -
3 Aug 2023
Economic diplomacy: Hard labour managing geo-economic fragmentation
Australia faces tough choices from aid to energy in a new world of government intervention in trade and industry. -
3 Aug 2023
De-dollarisation: shifting power between the US and BRICS
Will a new global reserve currency threaten the greenback's supremacy? The short answer is yes. -
1 Aug 2023
China’s big gamble in Pakistan: A 10-year scorecard for CPEC
The monster project for the Belt and Road Initiative has a deeply troubled beginning. -
1 Aug 2023
Something fishy about China’s anger over the Quad’s open ocean plans
Even illegal fishing is politicised amid growing China-US tensions. -
31 Jul 2023
Berlin’s economic “de-risking” model could be Europe's answer to the Taiwan question
Germany's aim is not to “decouple” from China, but to reduce its exposure to risk. And the potential winner is Taipei. -
27 Jul 2023
Qin Gang has come and gone, but US-China drama is stuck on repeat
The sudden and surprising demise of China’s foreign minister won’t change the systemic tensions in the relationship. -
26 Jul 2023
It’s no surprise Australia shrugged off China’s campaign of trade coercion
New modelling confirms an early Lowy Institute conclusion that Beijing’s bluster would cause minimal economic damage. -
26 Jul 2023
A return to old-school mercantilism?
Suspicion and economic competition are forcing states back in time, with protectionism and self-sufficiency the new norm. -
24 Jul 2023
Forget Washington, Pyongyang’s most important target has always been Beijing
Kim Jong-un’s charm offensive with Donald Trump may have yielded few results. Not so his efforts with Xi Jinping. -
21 Jul 2023
Who leads the world as longest in charge of their country?
Put together a list and you can start to see a pattern. -
17 Jul 2023
It might be plastic fantastic, but Barbie lends cartoonish credibility to China’s nine-dash line
Barbie does her dash with Vietnam, showing how maps have meaning. -
17 Jul 2023
The emergence of “collective strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan
With a change in language, has Washington over-promised on its allies’ appetite for conflict with China? -
14 Jul 2023
Despite the excitement, India’s South China Sea policy remains unchanged
Backing the Philippines over the 2016 arbitration award doesn’t mean India is about to abandon caution in efforts to balance China. -
13 Jul 2023
Putin is Xi’s useful idiot
In the geopolitical tussle between superpowers, Russia pays the price and China reaps the benefits. -
11 Jul 2023
Beijing’s bad bet on Moscow
The collapse of the Putin regime is something China wants to avoid. A weak Kremlin is better than a headless one. -
11 Jul 2023
Charting new paths for Antarctic protection despite China’s resistance
Too much would be lost by tearing up existing agreements. There are other ways to entice Beijing to cooperate. -
7 Jul 2023
Geopolitical duel in the Pacific: Solomon Islands security at risk as Australia and China compete
Honiara has successfully leveraged strategic competition to meet its security interests but there are worrying signs of friction. -
3 Jul 2023
China’s answer to Top Gun is a flat spin
Hardly the touted blockbuster, Born To Fly is more dreary vanity flight than rousing nationalist paean. -
27 Jun 2023
China’s double wedge against efforts to foster Vietnam-US relations
Just as Beijing seeks to coerce Hanoi in the South China Sea, it warns about Washington’s intentions closer to home. -
27 Jun 2023
Mongolia in the middle: China and Russia may split over the allure of renewables
With an abundance of solar and wind power, the landlocked East Asian country is set to impact Sino-Russian relations. -
26 Jun 2023
After the meltdown: Sri Lanka’s strategic options
With its economic and political crisis in the rear-view mirror, Colombo has the chance to reposition itself regionally. -
23 Jun 2023
Perceptions and trust: Chinese views of Canada and Australia amid geopolitical tensions
New data reveals lingering resentments as well as ongoing opportunities. -
20 Jun 2023
Is the Gorkha’s place in India’s history about to change?
A new scheme for Nepalese recruits breaks a 75-year tradition and is straining relations between the two countries. -
16 Jun 2023
Does China wield excessive influence in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank?
A dramatic resignation this week has put a spotlight on the functions of Beijing’s brainchild. -
15 Jun 2023
It’s time for South Korea to refocus on multilateral diplomacy
A new national security strategy stresses values-based diplomacy, but that can’t be at the expense of talking to China. -
13 Jun 2023
Shangri-La: A missed chance for US–China dialogue
But at least both sides recognised that the outbreak of a conflict would be “unbearable”.