Asia
Hsinchu: Taiwan’s city at the centre of China’s conundrum
Centres of power such as Beijing, Washington and Taipei have generated most of the headlines as the Taiwan challenge gets ever hotter. But, while these cities clearly have plenty…
K-drama takes a dark turn
In recent months, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has raged against the cultural influence of South Korea, calling K-pop a “vicious cancer” permeating North Korean society. This…
Hobbling Indonesia’s anti-corruption body
Ask any Indonesian about their country’s most pressing problem and more likely than not the answers you’ll get are “the economy” and “corruption”.
This is with good reason…
Supporting the victims of sexual violence in Myanmar
Phyu Phyu Oo and Sara Davies
Conflict-related sexual violence has been a feature of fighting in Myanmar for decades – a crime explicitly singled out by the UN Secretary General…
Building stronger Australia-Indonesia ties
When then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed the Australian parliament in 2010, he argued that the bilateral relationship faced four major challenges:…
North Korea: The long-awaited fallout of summit diplomacy
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un delivered an important speech last week during a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea – the first substantive response from Pyongyang on the…
The dangers in Australia’s blissful ignorance about India
A major headline from the 2021 Lowy Institute Poll is the dramatic decline in the Australian public’s assessment of China, continuing the trend already observed in previous years…
By the numbers: Charting the Australia-China relationship in decline
“China is angry. If you make China the enemy, China will be the enemy.” Or so said a Chinese government official speaking to an Australian reporter in November 2020. This comment…
Standing with Afghanistan: Inclusion and women’s rights in peace talks
The agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban in February 2020 sought to end America’s (and Australia’s) longest-running war. After nearly two decades of conflict, the…
India’s hidden Covid crisis
India’s second wave of Covid-19 has been brutal on its people. During the first wave, images emerged of a mass exodus from the major cities with countless people walking –…