2 May 2023
Choosing openness in the international economy
As the region seeks to rebound from a global economic downturn, the free flow of goods and services is key.
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2 May 2023
What price will Laos need to pay to be saved, and will China pay it?
The debt-burdened Southeast Asian nation offers China a chance to recast its reputation. -
2 May 2023
Managing Japan-Australia energy tensions in a time of transition
Australia can’t afford to support Japan’s carbon emissions anymore than its own. -
1 May 2023
Chinese spy bases on Myanmar’s Great Coco Island? Here we go again
A little history should help dampen some wild speculation about eavesdropping facilities in the Indian Ocean. -
1 May 2023
Finding opportunity in Asia’s net-zero transition
Australia will miss out if it doesn’t prepare for lower coal and gas exports. -
1 May 2023
AUKUS + NZ = win-win
New Zealand can make creative contributions to the technology sides of the partnership – and greatly benefit, too. -
28 Apr 2023
How Indonesia can afford to cut coal-fired power – and faster
The Just Energy Transition Partnership can be a model for other countries to accelerate energy systems transformation. -
28 Apr 2023
South Korea can’t afford to be a Wally with water
And neither can the rest of the world. -
28 Apr 2023
Marcos has turned the Philippines towards America – not without risks
An expanded US military presence will benefit efforts to stand up to China. But Filipinos are wary of the social cost. -
27 Apr 2023
Will US reassurance be enough to halt South Korea’s nuclear ambition?
Seoul has won extra support from Washington, but not for the goal of global disarmament. -
27 Apr 2023
Economic diplomacy: Friends, rivals and diplomatic gaslighting
Money still talks in a new world of tighter security alliances when Japan and China can align against Australia on energy. -
27 Apr 2023
Bringing the Blue Pacific and Indo-Pacific narratives together
More than a distraction, geopolitical competition shapes the regional security agenda – and that carries opportunity. -
27 Apr 2023
Shaky foundations for the New Development Bank
A new president for BRICS groupings finance arm must steer geopolitical storms from outside – as well as within. -
26 Apr 2023
The two big flaws in Penny Wong’s talk of deterrence over Taiwan
It’s wishful thinking to dismiss debate on the most difficult and important foreign policy question as a “parlour game”. -
26 Apr 2023
Quad should ask ASEAN to a diplomatic dance
For all the talk of hedging, Southeast Asian nations have long worried about China’s ambition to dominate the region. -
25 Apr 2023
Public holiday: ANZAC Day
Tuesday is a public holiday in Australia. Normal publishing will resume on Wednesday. -
24 Apr 2023
Defence Review: DFAT gets a boost
For the first time, a major Defence policy statement recommends more diplomatic funding. -
24 Apr 2023
Defence Strategic Review: Strong chords, with one jarring note
A promising strategy, but is there tension with AUKUS? -
24 Apr 2023
Robert O’Neill: on war, strategy and history
Remembering a doyen of Australian strategic studies. -
24 Apr 2023
To India, spoils of empire a less sparkly side of Charles’ coronation
Narendra Modi has set out to erase a colonial mindset in public life, but its replacement has generated its own unease. -
21 Apr 2023
Strategic divergence with Indonesia: an Australian perspective
Despite expected differences with Indonesia, Australia also underplays how fast its regional approach has changed in just a decade. -
21 Apr 2023
India still needs to work with Russia on Afghanistan
Proximity changes the priorities for India in a conflict on the doorstep. -
20 Apr 2023
Don’t reward the Taliban’s gender apartheid with recognition
Returning diplomats to Afghanistan would send a terrible message to women and girls that the world has given up on them. -
20 Apr 2023
Embracing the different ways Indonesia and Australia view the region
It would be a mistake to assume enhanced defence cooperation means the two countries share a strategic outlook. -
20 Apr 2023
Questions about Australian aid to fund the Pacific Games
Australia is backing a sports tournament over urgent development needs, and doing so may break international aid rules. -
19 Apr 2023
Hugh White on the choice facing Penny Wong
How long can the Foreign Minister talk of a multipolar order in Asia in a government working to bolster US strategic primacy? -
19 Apr 2023
Chinese-Australians feel more at home
Despite tension in Australia-China relations, Chinese-Australians express stronger connection and trust in Australia. -
19 Apr 2023
Revisiting the Green Climate Fund in the Pacific
The Fund is providing important support but access remains a challenge. Australia re-joining could make the difference -
18 Apr 2023
Rallies, flags and motorbikes: it’s election time in Timor-Leste
Where do political dynamics stand as Southeast Asia’s youngest democracy kicks off parliamentary elections? -
18 Apr 2023
Not the Indo-Pacific: a Melanesian view on strategic competition
The states of the southwest Pacific are not interested in a zero-sum contest between the United States and China. -
17 Apr 2023
AUKUS: What to do with nuclear waste?
Only by investing in community consent – “social licence” – can the government be certain about long-term storage plans. -
17 Apr 2023
Kazakhstan in the middle
The West hopes for a stable partner to deny Russia. Yet the Central Asian nation may seek equidistance from all. -
14 Apr 2023
No Albo at NATO, no worries
Australia’s diplomatic effort has been in overdrive. That doesn’t change by not sending a minister to Vilnius. -
14 Apr 2023
A strategy for engaging for small developing states
If Australia is serious about climate change, it needs better relationships with island nations – near and far. -
14 Apr 2023
Mekong River: Turning declaration into actions
Millions rely on Southeast Asia’s biggest river and promises made in Vientiane last week must be kept. -
13 Apr 2023
Economic diplomacy: Counting the cost of decoupling
US-China tensions are disrupting economic links for other countries as new forecasts of slow growth make change harder. -
13 Apr 2023
Taiwan: Far from lost in translation, Macron said exactly what he meant
The French President’s comments are the latest example of his consistent call for Europe to set its own path. -
13 Apr 2023
The urgent humanitarian need to get diplomats back to Afghanistan
Aid workers are pressed enough to deliver much needed relief without a burden of also speaking for the global community. -
12 Apr 2023
Australia’s delicate dance with the United States and China
Could Canberra’s deft management of its Beijing relationship influence policy in Washington? -
12 Apr 2023
What does China want in Ukraine?
Beijing has reservations about Putin’s war, but seeing Moscow take a beating is not in China’s interests. -
11 Apr 2023
France tightens the screws in New Caledonia
Pro-independence leaders believe time is on their side, but the French government sees little room for compromise. -
11 Apr 2023
Russia foreign policy: the search for new friends
Shunned by the West, Moscow is wooing the rest of the world. And so far it’s finding success. -
7 Apr 2023
‘Cause I'm leavin’ on a jet plane
“Don’t know when I’ll be back again …” Actually, we do. See you after Easter, Friday and Monday are public holidays here in ‘stralya. -
6 Apr 2023
What “Utopia” got wrong about China and defence policy
If Australia didn’t have a Defence Force, would China have turned to force rather than economic coercion? -
6 Apr 2023
Australia can no longer justify fossil fuel funding
Canberra needs to sign onto the Glasgow Statement and join its allies in shifting public support to renewables. -
6 Apr 2023
China is its own worst enemy
Xi’s belligerence prompts classic balancing, an alignment among smaller states that would alone struggle to compete. -
5 Apr 2023
What of the Rohingya? The ICC, Ukraine, and limits of “international” justice
The International Criminal Court will always be seen as a selective tool unless states agree to decide cases on need. -
5 Apr 2023
Russia’s shifting far right: the war party
A powerful conservative movement in Moscow dictates that Russia only wins if an independent Ukraine ceases to exist. -
4 Apr 2023
To help end war in Ukraine, the Quad should back India to engage Russia
India might be accused of playing both sides but also has the special relationships to lead a push towards a settlement. -
4 Apr 2023
Indonesia-China: a smart city can make for clever politics
With a new capital to build, Indonesia can benefit from directing Chinese investment.