Asia
Authoritarians seek advantage in India’s Covid crisis
As India grapples with an apocalyptic Covid-19 crisis at home, the Modi government put a temporary halt on its “Vaccine Maitri” (vaccine friendship) program shipping millions…
Is North Korea expertise all talk?
Among Russia, Middle East–North Africa, China and North Korea watchers, there’s a recurrent debate – one responsible for snide comments at conferences, heated social media…
India’s power illusion
India was proud to boast about being the “world’s pharmacy” as the coronavirus pandemic unfolded, particularly after other members in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue asked…
Pakistani Taliban turn on China
A deadly bomb blast rocked the Serena Hotel last month in Pakistan’s south-western city of Quetta, leaving five dead and 12 critically injured. The bomb exploded just as a VIP…
Australia keeps calm while China carries on
Now that the Morrison government has cancelled Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement with China, Australia is bracing for retaliation from Beijing, probably by way of further trade…
Commentary
Stoking fears of war could serve China’s goals. Australian policy needs rethinking
Tensions in the region are escalating, but trumpeting the coming threat of war plays into Beijing’s goals and risks undermining Taiwan further. Originally published in The…
India: Smoke and mirrors
Watching a Hindu cremation, in which the body is burned on an open funeral pyre, is a profoundly confronting experience. The body is placed onto a cement platform. A pyre is built…
China’s climate pivot could reshape the economic future
Diplomacy is not always diplomatic. This fact of international life was on full display during the recent meeting of top US and Chinese diplomats in Alaska. It has also frequently…
Taiwan: Renewing a southbound vision
For all the talk of cross-Strait military tensions – which are real – in the economic realm, Taiwan’s fortunes have been bound to those of China. Recognising the need to…
Some reflections on the “anonymous Xinjiang paper”
During an event to launch the China Story Yearbook at the National Press Club in Canberra on 21 April, the Director of the Australian National University’s China in the World…