23 Jul 2020
India-China relations and the geopolitics of water
Control over key rivers effectively gives China a chokehold on India’s economy – and poses a wider regional threat.
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23 Jul 2020
Vanuatu: A real test for local emergency response
With Covid-19 restrictions isolating the island country, Cyclone Harold forced a new approach to disaster management. -
23 Jul 2020
Modi’s pandemic gambit
A health calamity is unfolding, yet the government boasts about the best recovery rates in the world. Sound familiar? -
22 Jul 2020
Interesting times for TikTok
The debate over banning the social media app hits on big issues of tech, trade and sovereignty. -
22 Jul 2020
A nervous watch on the Three Gorges Dam
Extensive flooding is testing one of the world‘s megaprojects – and China’s reputation for high-quality infrastructure. -
22 Jul 2020
Is Huawei in the UK a canary in the coalmine?
Britain’s 5G ban shows that political risk must be priced into commercial calculations as the world considers value. -
21 Jul 2020
Writing off Trump
A testy interview puts the spotlight on the President – but do the facts matter? -
21 Jul 2020
Singapore’s election: Why aren’t the winners smiling?
While the People’s Action Party was assured of holding power once more, the results didn’t all flow its way. -
21 Jul 2020
India, Australia and containing the China challenge
Joint war games in the Indian Ocean are not symbolic – and the message isn’t lost on Beijing. -
20 Jul 2020
Moon’s North Korea vision up in smoke? Not so fast …
Undeterred by criticism, South Korea’s president may have set his sights on a smaller deal. -
20 Jul 2020
Hidden gems in the 2020 Force Structure Plan
Defence’s $270 billion shopping list has some surprising inclusions. -
20 Jul 2020
Social credit: The next China risk for Australian business
Continuous monitoring via technology raises numerous questions and will bring unforeseen consequences. -
17 Jul 2020
COVIDcast: Malcolm Turnbull on geopolitics and the pandemic
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world. -
17 Jul 2020
The obstacles to Syrian aid
Russia and China have used the Security Council to squelch cross-border humanitarian assistance. It’s time for options. -
17 Jul 2020
Taiwan tiptoes in cross-strait relations
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has carefully navigated Beijing’s bullying and wishful thinking about Washington. -
17 Jul 2020
The kind of test the world doesn’t need
Even if merely talk, speculation about the US resuming nuclear weapons tests could needlessly spark bigger problems. -
16 Jul 2020
Devaluing DFAT
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has long got the short end of the stick. Why? -
16 Jul 2020
Economic diplomacy: Covid recovery, from Singapore to the EU
A shaky result for Singapore’s PAP, a jump start for global trade and a clear message for Australia's universities. -
16 Jul 2020
The elusive pragmatist who transformed political Islam in Indonesia
Hilmi Aminuddin had a central, if rarely seen, place in polarising arguments over the role of Islam in the state. -
16 Jul 2020
Canberra vs Beijing: Getting serious about costs
It is impossible to have a useful public debate about the value of sovereignty if we refuse to put a price on it. -
15 Jul 2020
America’s summertime blues
Covid-19, the George Floyd killing and three years of Donald Trump have left people exhausted. But an election is near. -
15 Jul 2020
Twisting India’s Chicken’s Neck
The Siliguri Corridor in north-eastern India poses a major defence challenge. -
15 Jul 2020
Decolonise Diego Garcia: Why America should not fear Mauritius
Only a deal with Port Louis can put the future of the US base beyond question and preserve a crucial staging post. -
15 Jul 2020
Another independence referendum looms in New Caledonia
The Covid-19 crisis has been a major controversy, but almost every issue is divided on pro- and anti-independence lines. -
14 Jul 2020
Putting study abroad on ice carries a diplomatic cost
The benefits of international education come from cultural capital and influence – Covid-19 is putting these at risk. -
14 Jul 2020
A high-risk, low-reward defence posture
What exactly does Australia showing “willingness” to use force look like? And where does it lead? -
14 Jul 2020
Australia’s Russia problem (and how to solve it)
Quite literally, the coldest continent might be just the right place to thaw out Canberra’s frosty ties with Moscow. -
14 Jul 2020
Obstacles remain for Pakistan dam backed by China
The Diamer-Bhasha dam project faces high costs, territorial disputes and community opposition. -
13 Jul 2020
Kim Jong-un zigs, Kim Yo-jong zags, and how North Korea negotiates
A threat, then an olive branch. A provocation, then soothing words. Pyongyang’s pattern has a purpose. -
13 Jul 2020
A diplomatic step-up to match our military step-up
We need to strengthen the arm of Australian diplomacy just as much as we need to strengthen the military. -
13 Jul 2020
Philippines government driving jeepneys off the road
A modernisation plan and now Covid-19 threaten a vivid cultural symbol and the livelihoods that go with it. -
13 Jul 2020
The brakes on Beijing’s ambition
While we prepare for the worst, myriad reasons suggest that China’s rise is not as inevitable as often assumed. -
10 Jul 2020
India-China conflict: A move from the Himalayas to the high seas?
A risky naval blockade in the Indian Ocean is touted by some as a way to pressure China’s vital energy routes. -
10 Jul 2020
Keeping the Kremlin in the Kelvinator
A flurry of enthusiasm to re-engage Russia speaks more to Western insecurities than future power dynamics in East Asia. -
10 Jul 2020
Stoking the fire of Asia-Pacific missile proliferation
Despite the justifications, Australia’s plan to acquire long-range missiles won’t make the country or the region safer. -
9 Jul 2020
The semiconductor industry is where politics gets real for Taiwan
These tiny strategic products can profoundly change the world as the US and China fight over the brains of electronics. -
9 Jul 2020
India’s dilemma: Neither strategic nor autonomous
The long-desired aim of strategic autonomy is still far away. And confrontation with China is much closer. -
9 Jul 2020
Cashing in the chips at the Trump casino
The prospect of a Biden administration has pro-US leaders in the Middle East seeking to keep their political “winnings”. -
9 Jul 2020
What resilience really means as a guide for Australian policymaking
A defensive attitude without greater engagement with the entire global system would leave the country more vulnerable. -
8 Jul 2020
Singaporeans’ tricky exercise in tactical voting
The ruling PAP wants a “strong mandate”, while the opposition relies on electoral quirks and the guesswork of voters. -
8 Jul 2020
Calling out “expansionism”: The Modi way
The Indian PM has deftly turned Beijing’s regular complaints about history back on itself. -
8 Jul 2020
Costly cargo: The plight of seafarers in a pandemic
Is enough being done to look after international crews aboard “flags of convenience” ships and to maintain global trade? -
8 Jul 2020
Consulting on Bougainville’s future: The what, who, how and when
Making progress after the overwhelming independence ballot is as much a question of bureaucratic mechanics as politics. -
7 Jul 2020
Yes, to balance China, let’s bring Russia in from the cold
The West’s isolation of Russia has helped Moscow acquiesce in an expanded Chinese presence it would once have resented. -
7 Jul 2020
China eyes African prospects to iron out trade tension with Australia
Investing in largely untapped iron ore sources in Africa might be Beijing’s answer to diversifying import sources. -
7 Jul 2020
The economics of national security in Hong Kong
China’s new Hong Kong legislation shows how national security has become a part of the state’s economic arsenal. -
6 Jul 2020
Indonesia: Still caught between trade and protectionism
There is little evidence Jokowi sees trade deals as a way to drive liberalising domestic economic reforms at home. -
6 Jul 2020
Beyond Covid, the chance for a broader Australia-Japan relationship
Positive public feelings towards Tokyo show how Canberra can move beyond a narrow focus on security ties. -
6 Jul 2020
The cost of conspiracy in muddling public health messages
A Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria shows the need to counter hate speech, extremist content and misinformation online. -
6 Jul 2020
Book review: The making of Putin’s Russia
How did an uncharismatic former mid-level KGB spy rise to the pinnacle of Russian politics?