The EU States recognise that changing the approach taken by UNIFIL would risk making their troops a target of violent resistance.

If President Rodrigo Duterte is not careful, his legacy to the Philippines will be two newly revitalised insurgencies, not just one.

On Pakistan, Trump has said out loud what has until now been largely debated and threatened in private.

Not only has the jihadist threat increased, the nature of the threat has evolved significantly.

Japan is being tested as much as the missile itself.

Neither destroyer was showing Automatic Identification System data at the time of their accident. This was done to keep their identity as American warships secret.

Overall, the indications are that Abenomics has helped nudge the Japanese economy towards a stronger growth path.

Australia should develop a more robust and distinct preventing violent extremism (PVE) program that aims to support the existing capacities of - or mobilises - communities and individuals.

The Afghanistan Army, if widely mentored and well supported by its own intelligence and air and ground fire support, could have a significant effect on the Taliban in one to two years.

This week's links include President Trump linking foreign aid to cooperation in Afghanistan and the role of the private sector in Australian aid.

Hun Sen is preparing for next year’s elections, which means that he's determined to undermine, denigrate, and punish all those he sees as political enemies.

Three years after the military coup, the trial of Yingluck rehashes old grievances and threatens to unsettle the relative calm.

The influence of advisers is undoubtedly there, but how much will they mitigate the President’s disruptive tendencies?

If Beijing expects the Trump Administration to go soft on China following Bannon's dismissal, it's going to be disappointed.

This week's include also include the return of Telegram to Indonesia and wedding pix that went viral.

Has Syria been chemically disarmed?

There is a strong feeling in Delhi that China disregards India's aspirations to be a great power and is trampling on India's strategic space.

The stability of Australia’s commercial relationship with Japan conceals some significant developments.

These week's links also include asylum seeker news from Nauru, shoring up the borders in Bangladesh, and climate change refugees from PNG’s Carteret Islands.

A different angle on the US vs China economic partner debate, why private companies do better in Asia, and the new version of globalisation as per McKinsey's.

So long as bipartisanship on foreign and defence policy overrules argument and debate, any effort to give parliament a say on war will be pointless.

The US Navy’s mastery of engineering has long been a strength for the navy, but the requirement for all its line officers to spend time as platform engineers at sea may be at the expense of seamanship and navigation.

Harvard University scholar Graham Allison talks about his new book on US-China relations.

This week's links also include an examination of the historical significance of the Australia-PNG relationship for both countries.

It seems Trump has been co-opted by the powerful military and foreign policy establishment in Washington - memorably described as 'the Blob' by former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes.

Having achieved the status quo ante, one can well imagine the boffins at Cambridge congratulating themselves.

Under Mattis, the military leg will be well planned and well executed but the diplomatic and economic legs also require appropriate staffing and focus over an extended period,

There needs to be better recognition of the risks involved in not disarming North Korea.

China's leaders would very reluctantly back down if they were truly convinced that the alternative was war with America. But how would the US convince them of that?

Trump’s words and actions have had a significant impact, scaring Western businesses already wary of doing business with Iran and adding fuel to the growing fire between the US and its European allies.

When it comes to Germany and Russia, pragmatic economic interests run up against a philosophical commitment to human rights and a liberal European order, and adherence to the positions of NATO and the EU.

The film reflects the increasingly widespread view in China that it has thrown off the shackles of a century of humiliation and emerged as a power equal to - if not better than - its Western counterparts.

A growing political-military nexus between China and Pakistan, as currently seems likely, will further aggravate security competition with India.

Australia's best hope is that Canada, which shares our position as a major net user of IP, will work hard in the NAFTA negotiations to defend our common interests.

Westerners in general remain a target, as do Shi’a and Sunni governments who Salafists believe are constraining their activities.

Kong Xuanyou will have to have a thick skin because he is dealing with some of the world’s most prodigiously talented producers of invective.

Highlights from The Interpreter this week.

Borrowing at a low interest rate might look attractive but, in the long term, the government - and its citizens - pay through higher cost of finance.

Asia has acquired yet another flashpoint, one that China has deliberately picked at a time and location of its choosing.

The thing that puts New Zealand on the world map is rugby, and New Zealanders will do everything in their power to retain their rugby primacy.

The stakes – who gets to construct the legal, economic, and military architecture of an integrated Indo-Pacific region – are enormous. Without bold policy from the US and India, the answer will be China.

The count in the final undeclared seat in Papua New Guinea’s 2017 national elections has resumed – more than five weeks after polling was supposed to end.

On New Zealand, Turnbull, Pyne and Bishop have engaged in poor foreign policy at the behest of even worse domestic politicking.

Should Timor-Leste not become the 11th ASEAN member by the end of 2017, momentum may be lost and ascension indefinitely delayed.

This week's links also include a comparison of various citizenship laws and India's reported plan to deport 40,000 Rohingya Muslims.

The obvious wrinkle in the PM’s ANZUS pledge is what happens if the US strikes first and North Korea retaliates by attacking South Korea.

The only person responsible for the death of his children was Khalid Sharrouf himself.

With elections slated within the next year, the Malaysian government is running out of time to secure its economic future.

Julie Bishop speaking on Australia's new approach to the Pacific, violence in PNG's Highland provinces, the real danger facing Guam and more.

Gulf states have decided to try a carrot-based approach towards Iraq Shia leaders in attempting to blunt Iranian influence.