Anthony Bubalo, author of “Remaking the Middle East”, reflects on his changed priorities when observing the Middle East.

The real agenda in US–North Korea talks may be economic and political, rather than about arms.

<p>Links and updates from across the Pacific.</p>

The South Korean President’s shuttle diplomacy may fracture his relationship with the US.

Outrage over extrajudicial killings is dominating conversation ahead of general elections later this year.

The jogging bodyguards alongside Kim Jong-un’s limousine are more than a charade.

<p>Donald Trump deserves credit for creating a moment that could – maybe – escape the madness of destruction.</p>

<p>The more pretence there is agreement between countries when there is not, the more it undermines the credibility of other commitments leaders make at summits.</p>

Donald Trump has a unique chance to turn negotiations to his advantage and that of about 2000 survivors of the A-bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki who wound up in North Korea.

The novel mechanism that solved the Timor Sea dispute may not have the same success in other complex and highly contested cases across the region.

How The Interpreter has followed a remarkable few months of on-again off-again diplomacy.

The week that was on The Interpreter.

Publishing will be light on Monday.

Censorship has decimated a once vibrant media landscape, and the restrictions are growing.

Despite abandoning attempts to make same-sex relationships a crime, the politics around the LGBT community remains a flashpoint in Indonesia.

Australians have been passengers, if not active participants, in our own polarisation.

Greg Earl with economic news from across the region.

Beijing’s nomenclature belligerence may actually be working in Tapei’s favour.

Despite a new agreement after a spike in ceasefire violations, Kashmir continues to divide India–Pakistan relations.

Industrial nations helped the US export its way out of trouble in the 1980s but are now less inclined to assist America with economic problems of its own making.

South Korean, Japanese, and Western elites have painted themselves into a corner on complete, verifiable, irreversible nuclear disarmament.

Ima Abdulrahim and Sandra Hamid talk religion and politics in Indonesia with the Lowy Institute’s Matthew Busch.

Links and updates from across the migration and border policy fields.

“Yellow is Forbidden” tells the story of Chinese fashion standing side by side with European fashion houses.

While the downsides of Facebook are obvious, it is not clear that a temporary ban is the answer.

After the South China Sea, Beijing’s “salami slicing” strategy is moving along Southeast Asia’s longest river.

Some local leaders are putting short-term political gain ahead of constructive participation in a referendum process.

Determining the neutral rate can determine how much stimulus an economy requires, and important policy implications follow if present low estimates are correct.

After nearly two dozen bilateral meetings with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Japan’s Shinzo Abe still cannot show meaningful progress on a territorial dispute between the two nations.

The US Secretary of Defense fleshed out the Trump administration’s “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy with aplomb.

The Indian Prime Minister intended to reassure, and hinted only obliquely at some of the challenges confronting India and the region.

A love of country is not always synonymous with an endorsement of the government when speaking with Chinese students in Australia.

The week that was on The Interpreter.

Myanmar may hope to relieve international pressure over the Rohingya refugees, but a new arrangement with the UN could also lead to greater transparency in northern Rakhine State.

Taiwan would be well advised to improve its defences and make itself a tough nut to crack.

The US and North Korea are far apart, but look beneath the surface and there is a chance for agreement.

More than 1800 children languish in Indian jails with their imprisoned mothers, often as a consequence of bureaucratic incompetence. 

<p>Singapore, a country that has also been ruled by the same party since independence, is&nbsp;watching as its&nbsp;close neighbour&nbsp;strikes out on a new path.</p>

Allegations of communist indoctrination of Indonesian students in China again shows the country’s struggle to reconcile tropes of the past.

The relationship is getting harder to manage, but this difficulty is not an inherently bad thing.

While Vietnam would welcome American warships sailing near the disputed islands, other Southeast Asian counties would be concerned about escalating militarisation.

Small states are hardly just vulnerable victims, but often leverage their geopolitical importance to gain tremendous bargaining power.

Links and updates from across the Pacific islands.

The security threat from China grows by the day, but domestic policies increasingly shape how voters see Taiwan’s president.

Reintroducing one-man rule in China is not only creating political tensions, but also leading to bad macroeconomic policy – and Australia should prepare for the consequences.

Links and stories from the aid and development sector.

Australia needs to cooperate with Japan, in addition to China, on open and sustainable projects across the Indo-Pacific.

Publishing changes in commodities trade could lessen damage to third countries in the US–China conflict.

Scrutiny of the environmental cost is needed before plans for a runway in Australian Antarctic Territory are realised.

The 2008 disaster was a marker of China’s sudden illiberal turn and an early sign of Xi Jinping’s attitudes.