26 Sep 2018
Idlib: Catastrophe averted
As long as Turkey controls a viable anti-Assad force, it has leverage to dictate any Idlib settlement.
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25 Sep 2018
Exploring Taiwan’s aid to the Pacific
Per capita, Taiwan spends more than twice as much as China on Pacific aid. -
25 Sep 2018
Australia is dodging its terrorism obligations
Revoking the citizenship of dual nationals who fight with Islamic State contravenes Australia's obligation to prosecute. -
25 Sep 2018
Air traffic control: China and India compete
Competition over critical infrastructure isn’t just confined to ports. Access to airfields is just as important. -
24 Sep 2018
The Chinese box office dilemma
Chinese film audiences are growing, but box office data is being manipulated to promote underperforming domestic films. -
24 Sep 2018
Restoring Australia's Pacific media presence
The worst fate for Australia is not to be heard. Let’s hope the new ABC Managing Director agrees. -
24 Sep 2018
Malaysia: allowing students to find voice
After years of official limits, a healthy democracy in Malaysia needs to give students the space to discuss politics. -
22 Sep 2018
Weekend catch-up: the Koreas and the human side
Taiwan's diplomatic allies, Trump takes on Iran, and anti-gay laws in Singapore: The week that was on The Interpreter. -
21 Sep 2018
China’s aid: the image boost
Beijing seeks to polish its global brand through efforts in Africa and a willingness to cooperate, but more is needed. -
21 Sep 2018
Spilt milk: protecting exports during drought
Helping Australian dairy farmers in hard times is a job for insurance, not subsidies that could have international cost. -
21 Sep 2018
Can small island nations of the Pacific survive?
Independence, dependence, or interdependence – the challenges for micro-countries are growing as populations move. -
20 Sep 2018
The human side of Moon and Kim’s agreement
A declaration this week is cause for cautious optimism, but little for human rights advocates to celebrate. -
20 Sep 2018
The crowded skies of Syria
Another plane destroyed shows despite a three-year intervention, Russian commanders don’t always know what they should. -
20 Sep 2018
Climate change, at the frontlines
Pacific islands have declared climate change the “single greatest threat” to security, a significant shift in language. -
20 Sep 2018
The other Rohingya crisis
Away from Bangladesh, another danger may be brewing for the Rohingya refugees, those who fled to India. -
19 Sep 2018
The fight to repeal anti-gay laws in Singapore
The movement to repeal a colonial era ban is gaining momentum, despite the skewed social and political playing field. -
19 Sep 2018
Pacific links: polio in PNG, farm visa delay, more
How logging puts women at risk in Solomon Islands, ADB outreach, Nauru’s future, and other links from the region. -
19 Sep 2018
Korean peninsula and the Moon-shot
Talks rest on South Korea’s Moon Jae-in persuading the US and North Korea to join a “declaration-for-declaration” deal. -
19 Sep 2018
Taiwan: the lonely winter
China aims to cut Taiwan off from Japan, as well as backing from the Vatican, to ensure the island is out in the cold. -
18 Sep 2018
The third Moon-Kim summit: uncertainties abound
Moon Jae-in is attempting to mediate between Washington and Pyongyang, while his personal approval plummets at home. -
18 Sep 2018
Myanmar: media stranglehold
<p>Two Reuters journalists languish in jail – yet global condemnation has not moved Aung San Suu Kyi.</p> -
18 Sep 2018
The case for a foreign aid tsar
Creating a high-profile position with sole responsibility for the aid program would help balance competing priorities. -
17 Sep 2018
China’s arms trade: a rival for global influence?
While a challenge to US influence in Asia, Beijing’s ambitions for military sales in Africa look to driven by dollars. -
17 Sep 2018
Trump to take on Iran at UN Security Council table
Blasting the Islamic Republic is low-hanging fruit for an embattled President to please his base ahead of midterms. -
17 Sep 2018
America First, in space
<p>Despite new policy moves, the Trump administration's space policy is poorly defined and could stoke conflict.</p> -
15 Sep 2018
Weekend catch-up: China’s Xinjiang province & more
Politics and Australian foreign policy, Vostok-18 and Jack Ma retires: the week that was on The Interpreter. -
14 Sep 2018
We already have an agricultural visa
<p>Existing Pacific and Timor Leste programs already meet the labour needs of Australian farms – so why change?</p> -
14 Sep 2018
Conspiracy and cronyism: Turkey’s economic spiral
Making sense of the Turkish economy means delving into the way Recep Tayyip Erdogan views the world. -
14 Sep 2018
Belt and Road: more than just a brand
Ambiguity is deliberate to the way BRI has been rolled out, but it has all signs of a gargantuan-scaled grand strategy. -
14 Sep 2018
The Sino-Russian entente
While a formal alliance is out of the question, the West for too long assumed Beijing and Moscow are fundamental rivals. -
13 Sep 2018
Where next, Jack Ma?
In Xi Jinping’s China, only one star shines most brightly, making times less friendly for charismatic business leaders. -
13 Sep 2018
Economic diplomacy: Japan, Indonesia and the TPP
A business venture only a few years ago seen as a herald for closer Australia-Japan ties has come crashing down. -
13 Sep 2018
What Canberra’s turmoil means for foreign policy
Scott Morrison’s new government shows considerable continuity in both personnel and approach for Australia in the world. -
13 Sep 2018
Explaining green and blue growth
Attaching an economic cost to natural resources might be one way to ensure they can be governed and managed sustainably. -
12 Sep 2018
China’s Muslim ban
Comparatively little global outrage has been raised about Beijing’s draconian and comprehensive control of Muslim life. -
12 Sep 2018
Aid links: Idlib and “humanitarian tragedy”, more
Dire warnings on Syria, The Great Leveller, plus links from the aid and development sector. -
12 Sep 2018
The pointy end for the Melanesian Spearhead Group
The forum has past success in mediating bitter disputes, but faces a sharp test with regional independence movements. -
12 Sep 2018
How Taiwan deters China – and can do better yet
Far from a “lost cause”, the Asia Power Index demonstrates the chance Taiwan has to strengthen its defence networks. -
11 Sep 2018
India’s navy: between carriers and patrol boats
The blue water ambition of India’s navy runs the risk of being diluted by constabulary duties closer to home. -
11 Sep 2018
PNG: new friend versus old, APEC and polio
Australia and China are playing out an aid-funded geostrategic dance, with Port Moresby the chosen venue. -
11 Sep 2018
China’s trans-Himalayan tango with Nepal
After Doklam, confrontation has given way to economic contest, and perhaps the real China-India rivalry is yet to start. -
10 Sep 2018
Political blackmail in the Taiwan-China contest
Countries with diplomatic ties to Taiwan are blackmailing Taipei before ditching ties in favour of Beijing. -
10 Sep 2018
Japan is back in the Bay of Bengal
Tokyo has long understood the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea are the lynchpins that connect the Indo-Pacific. -
10 Sep 2018
Idlib – the (nearly) final frontier
Turkey seems to be in the weakest position in negotiations with Russia and Iran as the pressure on Idlib builds. -
10 Sep 2018
India-US: two plus two equals hopes and troubles
The growing American interest in India has led to optimism for future cooperation – but significant hurdles remain. -
8 Sep 2018
Weekend catch-up: China's tech bubble, and more
Mahathir redux, Russian military exercises and Taiwan's pacific allies: The week that was on The Interpreter. -
7 Sep 2018
Debating South Korea’s mandatory military service
An exemption from military service for a football star has brought global attention to a simmering social issue. -
7 Sep 2018
The James Ricketson trial
Watching court proceedings of a case marred by irregularities that in a country other than Cambodia might be thrown out. -
7 Sep 2018
Trump and rules-based order for global trade
Trump didn’t cause the problems, his presidency has just put them in the spotlight, without practical policy solutions. -
6 Sep 2018
China’s tech bubble
As debts mount and liquidity begins to dry up, it will soon become clear how much the growth of tech start-ups was fact.