The application of the death penalty by Australia's Southeast Asian neighbours recurrently strains bilateral relations. The execution of Australians in the region sharply highlights the differences between each country's punishments for criminal offences. Executions in Southeast Asia also undermine Australia's commitment to abolition.

Australia's political relationship with China is far less developed than its economic relationship. In Australia-China ties: in search of political trust, Linda Jakobson argues that this is detrimental to Australia's interests because China is not merely an economic power but also a crucial political and security actor in the region. Underdeveloped political and strategic relations between Canberra and Beijing weaken Australia's ability to exert influence regionally.

Lowy Institute Research Fellow Dr Dave McRae, in an article for the Review section of The Australian Financial Review, argues that in light of the significant efforts Indonesia has made to reduce the threat of terrorism, the time is overdue for the government to bring another form of extremism – violent religious intolerance – under control.

In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal Asia, Linda Jakobson, Program Director East Asia, compares the recent anti-Japanese protests to similar anti-Japanese sentiment which swept across China seven years ago. This time around, the consequences could be much more serious.