DFAT Secretary Frances Adamson discusses her life and career and the challenges facing her department and the nation.

This weeks links also include government limbo in New Caledonia and the new host for the 2019 Pacific Games.

E-diplomacy has coarsened public diplomacy. For international leaders and their diplomats, it may be time for a screen break. 

The Rohingya crisis is a disaster for Myanmar’s planned transition from authoritarian rule to a more democratic system of government.

Nothing has emerged so far to replace a dedicated foreign correspondent with time to settle in and the financial stability to report in depth.

Almost 30 years after India and China agreed relations would not be held hostage to the territorial dispute, it remains a source of mistrust and hostility.

If Make in India can deliver an employment bonanza, Modi’s prospects in the 2019 elections could shift from strong contender to virtual shoe-in.

Terminating the talks completely would be an enormous betrayal of the many pro-European Turks who have placed great hope in the EU to curb abuses in Turkey.

While some of the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law are taken from a global model, many recommended safeguards are absent in Myanmar.

Whether Wang Qishan remains on the Politburo Standing Committee despite his age could be an indicator of President Xi Jinping's political insecurities.

This week's links also include world league tables for development commitment and rethinking women's household power.

Quantitative easing was misunderstood from the start, and enough confusion still exists to cause over-reaction.

Future flashpoints in the border regions are almost inevitable and Bhutan may need to start making some moves or risk being pushed off the board.

Inevitably, the Suu Kyi backlash has given rise to calls that she be stripped of her Nobel Prize and other international prizes. This is a bad idea.

What are the chances of war on the Korean Peninsula, the upcoming Lowy Institute Media Award, Assad's momentum in Syria and more.

Anti-Japanese patriotism reaches deep into China's heartland, as I discovered a few years ago.

In 1978, then-Immigration and Ethnic Affairs Secretary Lou Engledow said detention wouldn't 'stop boat arrival nor will it produce in itself a final answer'.

Delhi’s political rhetoric about its dominant position in the Indian Ocean ignore the facts.

Editors don't occupy the top rung of the journalistic ladder. Foreign correspondents do.

This weeks links include the crisis in Myanmar, ongoing preparations for the global compact on migration and the end of the DACA program in the US.

An Australia-India trade deal has gone from being almost a done deal to just one of many options.

If Assad's forces are re-imposing central control while defeating Islamic State, there's not much Washington can do about it.

Trade agreements are no longer just about reducing tariffs.

Aaron Connelly speaks with Milton Osborne, one of the world's leading historians of Cambodian politics, about recent developments in the country.

This week's links include the 48th Pacific Islands Forum underway in Samoa, Tonga without a caretaker government, and a parliamentary defection in PNG.

The author asks whether Cambodia's position as the region's most corrupt state presages the fate of the region as a whole.

Robert Kelly says he doesn't know 'anyone serious who advocates air strikes'. But what is his definition of 'serious' if it excludes the US president?

Strengthened international cooperation may require one international institution taking overall responsibility for capital flow management.

If the West allows Cambodia's democracy to fall without a whimper, the contagion of despotism will be hard to contain in Southeast Asia.

I am constantly asked if war is about to break out. I often have the impression the TV hosts or producers are disappointed I am not more alarmist.

An expedient negotiated settlement with Australia was in the interests of oil-dependent Timor-Leste.

A deal involving several hundred Islamic State fighters who vacated the rugged Lebanese-Syrian border area is yet another example, if any more were needed, of how complex this conflict remains.

The tirelessly ingenious financial sector will find new ways of getting into trouble.

An agreement between Australia and Timor-Leste, humanitarian crisis experiences from around the world, public perception on aid and more.

Given the recent weaker growth in wages and output, along with a lacklustre jobs market, it's time for another look.

Accept mutual nuclear vulnerability with North Korea or embark on a major war on the Korean peninsula. There is no third option.

The military's use of the 'four cuts' doctrine, a decades-old insurgent-fighting strategy, is an ominous development for the Rohingya.

The key question is whether Kim Jung-un is developing nuclear weapons and missiles for deterrence, primarily against the US, or for aggression.

The Interpreter introduces a new podcast, who won the Doklam stand-off, how is Trump's Pakistan strategy like to play out, and more.

We need a more concerted effort to warn intrepid Australians that some countries see drugs as an existential threat.

Canberra Conversations is a new podcast interview series with some of the big names from the foreign-policy and national-security world in Australia's capital.

This is something trade policy experts understand but many market analysts do not.

In response to China, Delhi is re-framing all its Indian Ocean engagements - political, military and diplomatic.

This week's links also include lessons from Canada and Facebook acts on people smugglers' posts.

It’s time for the IMF to develop some operational guidelines for capital-flow management for emerging economies.

I understand the US Marine commander in the Pacific is willing to allow MRF-D to serve under Australian command if the operational need arises.

The superficial reading is that China essentially forced India into a humiliating backdown.

Whenever the Security Council membership is not unified, the Council cannot be effective. There are no exceptions.

The USMC and ADF operate well together, though they have their own distinct traditions and cultures that require some working through.

This week's links also include a look at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting and the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Milne Bay.