The 2018 Rim of the Pacific military exercises are a chance for China’s neighbours to signal support for the US.

The menace behind the man within the title “Princely Exalted Supreme Great Commander of Gloriously Victorious Troops”.

Indian aircraft carriers, Bitcoin, and the vacant US Ambassadorship: the week that was on The Interpreter.

Amid claims of human rights abuses, many Yemenis are increasingly coming to view the Emirates as an occupying power.

To maximise its international influence, Canberra must concentrate on pathways where it has a comparative advantage.

Speaking with insiders and outsiders offers a remarkable insight into this famously mysterious company.

A qualitative, not quantitative, approach to evaluating foreign aid is needed more than ever.

Prematurely judging the Philippines’ foreign policy as appeasement of Beijing ignores gains.

<p>Recent public outrage demonstrate the optics of policy making matter, even in Vietnam.</p>

Aircraft carriers have a strategic and demonstrative impact no fortified island can replicate.

Riots in the PNG Highlands, Vanuatu’s PM in Canberra, tourism as a growth driver, and more updates from the Pacific.

Theatricality, frisson, an unguarded glimpse behind closed doors – the art of a momentous political photograph.

<p>The World Cup is a chance for authoritarian countries to appear more committed to idealistic internationalism.</p>

To displace conventional currencies, Bitcoin has to function better than existing monies. It doesn’t.

The search is for a technical solution that reconciles the national security imperative with personal privacy.

<p>A politically stupid choice as next US Ambassador to Australia would hurt public confidence in the relationship.</p>

We should resist the tendency to treat the changes we are seeing as one-offs.

For perhaps the first time, major players in Korean affairs all seem to share an interest in removing foreign forces.

Unnecessary panic was sparked after social and traditional media alike disseminated distorted information.

The US decision to walk away has made it harder for like-minded countries such as Australia to promote human rights.

The week that was on The Interpreter.

Even with North Korean denuclearisation, the two Koreas will remain divided.

Political confusion might appear on the surface, yet the new government cannot act without the right people in place.

A TEDx event in a refugee camp was an important platform but not as an excuse to erase international responsibility.

A funding shift towards infrastructure building, caused by Chinese competition, is welcome and well overdue.

The US is in trade rows with all of its major trading partners at once.

Both regions would benefit from exchanges to strengthen democratic resilience in the face of Chinese influence.

With equipment that appears almost James Bond–esque, Russia’s deep-sea fleet is potential hidden menace.

Even fiction can attract fringe outrage in a bid to capitalise on prime-time attention.

Australians have reacted to global disruptions with a growing sense of unease.

China still faces daunting development challenges and it will take many decades to close the asset gap with Western countries.

Winning a seat at the premier UN forum is a chance to see Southeast Asian issues on the world agenda.

<p>Links and updates from across the migration and border policy fields.</p>

As India looks to act East in response to China’s rise, investment in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands might make more sense than expensive floating status symbols.

Australia should use an important opportunity at the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the extrajudicial detention of up to one million Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China.

New analysis suggests that Australia has the wrong priority in corporate tax reform.

Donald Trump has recessed himself and Moon Jae-in looks to have the political support for a big-bang approach to a final status deal with North Korea – doubtful as the outcome might be.

Despite incidents of violence, opinion on all sides has increasingly converged towards a peaceful resolution to end the ongoing strife in Afghanistan.

Links and stories from the aid and development sector.

Battening hatches and waiting for the Trump storm to pass is hardly a pragmatic solution to concerns of a world in flux.

Overcoming the politics of victimhood is one way Japan’s leader could involve himself again in regional denuclearisation talks.

The countries are expanding bilateral relations in the energy, investment, and security sectors.

Healing the rift between the current regime and many Vietnamese abroad is a cause long overdue.

The week that was on The Interpreter.

<p>Hosting the tournament is a chance to show off to the world, and offers a snapshot of perceptions of the host country.</p>

Lost trust between leaders and policy concerns under Trump have hardened into an existential crisis.

<p>Pyongyang has pledged to dismantle a rocket engine test stand, which is less of a concession than it might seem.</p>

China’s political elite know that this is only the beginning, but have several reasons to be pleased.

With the relationship shifting towards conciliation, human rights language has largely disappeared from Trump’s vocabulary.

Chinese infrastructure investment in Pakistan diverts attention from much-needed reform of the country’s unresponsive economy.