Asia
China takes off for the Moon, tethered by politics at home
Early on Saturday morning, China launched the Chang’e 4 robot spacecraft on course for the Moon. If all goes well, it will become the first spacecraft in history to soft-land on…
US-China competition is all about us
We are not entering a new Cold War, despite both Chinese President Xi and US Vice-President Pence finding the term a useful rhetorical tool. The Americans have decided to…
Indonesia has a stake in Australia’s Lombrum plans too
During the November APEC Summit, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the US will work with Australia and Papua New Guinea to develop the Lombrum naval base on Manus Island.
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Steady but slow in Australia-Japan security cooperation
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to Darwin was rightly billed as historic and “deeply symbolic”. It also delivered some substance, with the announcement of…
Rap song sparks a gender conversation in South Korea
Sister, why mad? Blame system, not men. I am feminist.
A song released recently by Korean rapper San E has touched a nerve in South Korea. The controversial song “Feminist”…
How the US can prevent a China-dominated Asia
The US military is dangerously under-funded and could lose the next big war it wages. That is the key message from a new report by the influential National Defense Strategy…
Uighur: Australia needs to end “business as usual” with China
In the Uighur-Australian communities of Adelaide, Sydney, and Melbourne, almost everyone can tell you a story of losing contact with family members in the Xinjiang Uighur…
The India-Pakistan corridor of peace
The recent decision by the government of Pakistan and India to build a corridor from Indian Punjab to Kartarpur in Pakistan has raised hopes for the revival of a dialogue between…
Dilemmas in Afghanistan’s paradoxical peace drama
Last month, Moscow hosted a peace conference on Afghanistan and provided an opportunity for the Taliban to participate at the international level. The Afghan government did not…
Xi and Trump at G20: A tariff truce
This truce is by no means the end of trade tensions between China and the US.
Over what was undoubtedly a delicious dinner last Saturday night on the sidelines of the G20 meeting…