Asia
Remembering Timor – a soldier’s view
Twenty years ago, several hundred soldiers from the 3RAR Parachute Battalion Group, including me, flew from our base in Holsworthy to Darwin. We had a brief training session with…
Habibie’s lasting legacy for Indonesia
Bacharuddin Jusuf “BJ” Habibie, third president of the Republic of Indonesia, passed away on 11 September in Jakarta. After serving as vice president under Suharto, Habibie…
INTERFET and the defence of Australia
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the International Force East Timor (INTERFET), a multinational mission led by Australia to stabilise the country in 1999…
To take – not retake – “Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir”
Increasingly, we are seeing reports that senior Indian politicians want India to obtain what New Delhi calls “Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir” (POK). It’s hard to know how seriously to…
China-Taiwan: Solomon Islands’ switch and a “new normal”
“A vacuum simply offers opportunities for others to fill it up.”
That observation was offered by Vanuatu Member of Parliament Johnny Koanapo in a recent Facebook post. The…
Afghanistan – what’s next?
Ten days ago, US President Donald Trump called off negotiations with the Taliban about withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, widely expected to be followed by intra-Afghanistan…
Abe’s new cabinet includes a rising star and putative Prime Minister
Last week, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his cabinet after his Liberal Democratic Party’s healthy electoral success in the July upper house election. Abe said he…
Korea-Japan tensions, as seen in the suburbs of Brisbane
On the weekend of 24–25 August, the Brisbane City Council painted over a freshly-completed mural of a Korean statue on a traffic signal box. The mural had been approved…
Gladys Liu and the pitfalls of cultural anxiety
This country’s diverse Chinese-Australian communities are hurting. From conversations with friends, I gather they feel burdened by an obligation to show loyalty to Australia that…
Habibie’s legacy of Reformasi in Indonesia
Bacharuddin Jusuf “BJ” Habibie, Indonesia’s third president, died last week at age 83. Habibie was an unexpected president. He hesitantly took over the reins of government from…