Asia
Japan and South Korea’s diplomatic dispute doesn’t need US mediation
Already at its lowest ebb in decades, the Japan–South Korea relationship looks set to plummet further still. Leading this diplomatic descent are the perennial “history problems”,…
Does Chinese aid make Australians more generous?
China is changing the way Australia’s political elites think about aid. Chinese aid to the Pacific isn’t new, but in recent years, “China the aid donor” has become an unavoidable…
Hong Kong Protest City: Podcast out now
In the latest episode of the Lowy Institute’s new half-hour podcast, Rules Based Audio, I’m talking to Lowy Institute Research Fellow Ben Bland and Hong Kong-based…
The (other) continent we can’t defend
For all the back-and-forth Hugh White has generated with his latest book, How to Defend Australia, in a national preoccupation with the China question, little serious discussion…
Geopolitical moves in Jammu and Kashmir have a local cost, too
The mixed reaction to the Indian government’s planned dissolution of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, which has been approved and will take place on 31…
US, China now have a three-week window to avert trade talks collapse
After a week of turmoil following President Donald Trump’s decision to impose additional tariffs on imports from China, global markets are cheerful again. Shares are recovering…
In Myanmar, a unity still out of reach
In January 2018, the Arakan Army, the newest ethnic-based militia in Myanmar, released a video on YouTube and elsewhere of its cadres kitted out in camouflage, armed with modern…
Is North Korea still interested in working-level talks?
Barely a month after the historic handshake at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), North Korea returned to provocations by unveiling its new “strategic” ballistic missile…
The backlash to “brownface” in Singapore
Singapore is often touted as a modern marvel, an Asian Tiger with an enviable economy and a post-independence history that has been free of racial and religious tensions. It is…
Down and out in Dhaka
Bangladesh is certainly not in a happy state these days.
With more than 21,000 people falling prey to dengue fever in Dhaka, and the epidemic rippling out to wider regions of the…