13 Aug 2019
The (other) continent we can’t defend
A rude challenge awaits Canberra’s cosy assumptions about the Antarctic Treaty System and its ongoing relevance.
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12 Aug 2019
Geopolitical moves in Jammu and Kashmir have a local cost, too
The planned dissolution not only creates a regional disturbance, but tips the balance against minority rights. -
12 Aug 2019
70 years of the Geneva Conventions and why we need them more than ever
As tensions rise, this highpoint of multilateralism in the past offers comfort to the present in knowing rules apply. -
12 Aug 2019
It’s time for a “Quad” of coast guards
This modest proposal could help bring stability and security to the Indo-Pacific, without the military fanfare. -
9 Aug 2019
“Security Brexit”: Johnson follows Trump in the Persian Gulf
The UK has made a premature break with what should be a collective response to a crisis in Europe’s near-abroad. -
9 Aug 2019
US, China now have a three-week window to avert trade talks collapse
There will have to be a negotiation to enable negotiations to resume, and quick, otherwise the US election will intrude. -
9 Aug 2019
In Myanmar, a unity still out of reach
Perpetual conflicts put Aung San Suu Kyi’s peace plan – and political future – on shaky ground. -
8 Aug 2019
Is North Korea still interested in working-level talks?
Missile tests hardly seem to signal Pyongyang’s sincerity but may serve as a distraction tactic for wider aims. -
8 Aug 2019
The backlash to “brownface” in Singapore
<p>A racist advert on the state broadcaster has again thrust tensions about Singapore society into the limelight.</p> -
8 Aug 2019
Down and out in Dhaka
An epidemic, a rights activist, an exiled judge, and lynch mobs have Bangladesh in an uproar. -
7 Aug 2019
Pacific islands stand ground on West Papua push
In a battle of wills in the region, Australia and Indonesia now find the island nations have a measure of leverage. -
7 Aug 2019
China-US currency clash: Who’s manipulating who?
Trumpian currency intervention is a bigger risk than China weaponising the renminbi. -
7 Aug 2019
Climate change is a national security issue
The Morrison government’s Pacific “Step Up” will stumble before it starts unless global warming is taken seriously. -
7 Aug 2019
Aid links: colonial comeuppance, a sting in the bite, and more
Assessing the education of girls in India, hiring an apprentice helps, plus links from across the development sector. -
7 Aug 2019
Trump bets on Pakistan to deliver peace in Afghanistan
The hope might rest with Imran Khan, but for all the warm words, Pakistan can do only so much to influence the Taliban. -
6 Aug 2019
US foreign policy: restraint without retrenchment
Can the US escape a “law of the hammer”, where the deployment of American troops abroad offers a temptation to use them? -
6 Aug 2019
Coordinating with America to pressure China on trade
Beijing should pay legitimate intellectual property charges yet the system is an imperfect way to reward innovation. -
6 Aug 2019
PNG: making sense of a massacre
From the heights of political power to the depths of violence, Hela province follows a familiar path. -
5 Aug 2019
Iran: Washington calls on Canberra
Politics more than military necessity will decide if Australia backs Trump’s push for a Persian Gulf security force. -
5 Aug 2019
ASEAN’s strategic engagement in the unwieldy Indo-Pacific
The terminology might have converged, but differing interpretations of how to manage the region still pose a challenge. -
5 Aug 2019
Balancing act: China’s nationalist consumer boycotts
Outbursts of patriotic consumer outrage has become an increasing risk for foreign businesses in China. -
2 Aug 2019
Trump and the question of intelligence
Nominating loyalist John Ratcliffe as US intelligence chief will only compound the problem of speaking truth to power. -
2 Aug 2019
What China’s defence paper tells us about Beijing’s regional ambition
Threat perceptions dominate, as expected in a defence statement – but with wider goals to reshape security architecture. -
2 Aug 2019
The curious case of Hamza bin Laden’s death
Why is the world only now hearing about the apparent death of the al-Qaeda scion, and will it hurt the terrorist group? -
1 Aug 2019
Economic diplomacy: Guns versus butter, trade wars, and feeding PNG
Could trade talks with China be split from broader diplomacy in order to escape a security dilemma? -
1 Aug 2019
China’s aid: lend your money, (don’t) lose your friend
“Friendship” is a common formula Beijing’s uses describe its Pacific ties – but what does being friends really mean? -
1 Aug 2019
Indigenous roots of the “first” Filipino suicide bombing
A June attack in Sulu could be a rediscovery of an almost forgotten cultural practice rather than ISIS mimicry. -
31 Jul 2019
A podium protest aimed at swimming’s administrators, not China
Those trying to turn Mack Horton’s spat with Sun Yang into an attack on China have plunged down the wrong lane. -
31 Jul 2019
Pacific links: life on Manus, kava questions, seasonal workers, more
From tracking development data to the visit of PNG’s PM, stories and links from across the Pacific islands region. -
31 Jul 2019
The bittersweet pill in the Australia-India sugar stoush
The WTO fight over India’s sugar subsidies is a chance for New Delhi to encourage farmers into more profitable crops. -
31 Jul 2019
China’s intelligence gathering ships change the equation
If not quite a return to the Cold War, there are operational consequences to China’s increasing naval capabilities. -
30 Jul 2019
Gender: workforce transformation in Defence
A greater proportion of women in key leadership roles is critical in meaningful and enduring change. -
30 Jul 2019
PNG: Marape’s blueprint for change in a fast vanishing honeymoon
The new PM has big ambition to write a new chapter for the country but not to put himself at the centre of every deal. -
30 Jul 2019
Australia’s great and powerful friends: Podcast out now
Michael Fullilove discusses Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and Scott Morrison. -
30 Jul 2019
The Pacific step up goes to Washington
Finding a voice amid the diplomatic clamour in Washington can sometimes benefit from the help of friends. -
29 Jul 2019
Malaysia’s Mahathir has no interest in building a dynasty
<p>Speculation Mukhriz Mahathir could take over from his father is just that – Anwar Ibrahim is anointed.</p> -
29 Jul 2019
The trouble in the air on a tense Tuesday in Northeast Asia
The ruckus after South Korea fired warning shots at a nosy Russian spy plane marks a significant rise in tensions. -
29 Jul 2019
Can Taiwan’s President fend off a populist wave?
<p>The next election is cast as a Clinton v Trump-like contest between a breezy populist and “adult in the room”.</p> -
26 Jul 2019
Bob Mueller exits the stage
Rather than a beginning of something more, the testimony of the former Special Counsel this week felt like an end. -
26 Jul 2019
The importance of trust in preserving Antarctica’s future
China’s Antarctic law-making plans hinge on winning consensus – very different from proposals that win little support. -
26 Jul 2019
The limits to French grandeur in the Indo-Pacific
Emmanuel Macron wants to restore France to be a great power but despite a regional footprint his dreams may be fleeting. -
25 Jul 2019
China’s head-spinning defence white paper
The difference between how China sees the world and how the world sees China can lead to a seriously dizzying view. -
25 Jul 2019
Congo’s Ebola outbreak: sounding a global alarm
The world was too slow responding to the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak and cannot afford to make the same mistake. -
25 Jul 2019
Does a US flag on the Moon amount to a claim of sovereignty under law?
No, but international treaties that govern outer space loom as a potential flashpoint for growing US-China competition. -
24 Jul 2019
Boris wins his moment in the sun and may yet surprise us
<p>Unlike Trump, Johnson brings to the top job extensive government experience and a very different worldview.</p> -
24 Jul 2019
Japanese lessons for Australia’s relations with China
Could the Australian response to Japanese trade practices in the late 1970s be a blueprint for dealing with China now? -
24 Jul 2019
Hong Kong’s political trouble is Singapore’s gain
History looks to be repeating, as earlier strife in Hong Kong helped the rise of another of Asia’s island cities. -
23 Jul 2019
Cyber threats go beyond hackers and scams but to democracy itself
As awareness of digital vulnerabilities grows, fostering resilience against exploitation across open societies is key. -
23 Jul 2019
What the rest of Asia thinks about China’s Belt and Road Initiative
<p>A better sense of South-South cooperation helps understand the direction of China’s trillion-dollar flagship.</p> -
23 Jul 2019
Trump and Xi need a trade deal and they need it soon
With the US election looming, the window for an agreement is closing – yet the two sides are closer than often assumed.