Asia and Pacific
French elections reverberate in New Caledonia
You might wonder whether the result of the recent second round of French departmental elections – with Nicolas Sarkozy taking credit for the UMP's win…
What Asia's leaders should (but won't) say about the 70th anniversary of the Pacific War
Seventy years ago this year, the long project of Japanese imperialism in the Pacific came to an end.
In the West, this anniversary will be rolled together with the war against…
The TPP and intellectual property rights
Earlier posts have discussed how the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – if it comes into force – will be part of the process of setting global rules across a wide range of issues,…
Why the AIIB should not be governed like the World Bank and IMF
What is best practice for the governance of the Chinese-initiated Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB)? Australia says this remains a major concern, even though it has…
The coming nuclearisation of the Indian Ocean
While the world focuses on the dangers that a nuclear-armed Iran could present in the Middle East, a potentially more dangerous and unstable nuclear proliferation is occurring in…
China's reserve-currency ambition
In mid-2009, with American finance reeling from the Lehman Brothers collapse, the nation's Treasury Secretary addressed his prestigious alma mater Peking University. 'How safe are…
One belt, one road? China's community of common destiny
More details emerged over the weekend about two Chinese big-ticket initiatives, 'One Belt, One Road' and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Speaking at the Boao Forum…
Are China's shadow banks going to bring the economy down?
There has been much fretting about China's growth over the past five years. One special focus for hand-wringing has been the Chinese financial system and its non-banking component…
Shambaugh's China disaster scenario examined
'Always predict disaster', a shrewd academic economist told me some years ago. 'If it happens, you are proved right. And if it doesn't, then catastrophe was avoided by people…
In Malaysia, government demonstrates that it remains in control
Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak, founder of the Global Movement of Moderates, has been widely praised by international leaders (including President Obama and…