Asia
Philippine alliance angst
Last month, at his end-of-year press conference, the Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana called for a review of the 1951 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty …
North Korea is eclipsing the Moon presidency
South Korean President Moon Jae-in recently shook up his cabinet. In particular, his controversial chief of staff, Im Jeong-seok, stepped down. The growing impression in South…
What I missed last year: Japan, the unlikely overachiever
A series where Lowy Institute experts look back on what surprised them in 2018.
Surveying international news headlines from 2018, you’d be forgiven for believing that the…
Why governments criticise China and then sign deals with Beijing
There is growing anxiety about the increased Chinese footprint in South Asia and Africa within the strategic community in the West and India. Chinese projects have raised concerns…
North Korea’s “selective détente”
Almost two weeks have passed since Kim Jong-un delivered his 2019 New Year Address. He informed the world of his intention to capitalise on his diplomatic victories to…
“The whales have won” – even as Japan sharpens its harpoons
It might seem odd to see a glimmer of hope for conservation of the world’s whales, at the very time Japan has announced it will unilaterally withdraw from global whaling…
Religious freedom in China: better than before?
Speaking at New York’s Asia Society Policy on 5 December, former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd contended that religious freedom in China is “much better now than it was…
Choking point: India’s environmental crisis
It is January; a month that, in north India, once fell in the season of winter, but now is more synonymous with the depths of the region’s dreaded pollution season. This month, as…
Taiwan: Tsai Ing-wen’s battle to discipline the DPP
Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost November’s elections in a landslide due to President Tsai Ing-wen’s failure to control her own party. The defeat was followed by…
Myanmar: a country reluctant to help the world understand itself
Some have called Myanmar a struggling beauty. Without a doubt, the country is beautiful, home to a number of unique heritage sites. Yet it is also a country that claims it has…