Asia
Manila’s killing fields: Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on the poor
Book review: Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder In My Country by Patricia Evangelista (Penguin Random House, 2023)
“When I become president, when I take my oath of…
The changing face of Thai nationalism today
On 5 December, Thailand celebrated its “National Day”. The date is the birthday of former king Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away in 2016 after 70 years on the throne. The date…
Australia must work with Bangladesh to stop the Rohingya boats
Foreign Minister Penny Wong pledged additional assistance to Rohingya refugees this week, an important step in alleviating some push factors that are driving many people out…
The great offshore decommissioning
Battered by sea and wind, and eventually destroyed by economics, much of Australia’s offshore oil and gas structures are coming down. The latest estimates from the Centre of…
US-India relations are shaken but not shattered
It’s been almost a month since US authorities unsealed an indictment with shocking details about an unsuccessful plot, purportedly hatched by an Indian government official, to…
How Central Asia became a key region for the West
The global significance of Central Asia has been steadily growing. The past year, marked by the tumultuous war in Ukraine and the ensuing confrontation between Russia and the West…
The limits of Thailand’s populist politics
Pheu Thai, arguably Thailand’s most successful political party in terms of election wins, was founded in the late 1990s by a former telecom tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra. Starting out…
Shifting Quad relief operations from theory to practice
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi likes to emphasise the “practical dimension” of the Quad grouping – working together in response to disasters, not only the four members, but…
Beijing digs in for the Central Asia-China gas pipeline
China’s ongoing pursuit of a cross-border pipeline with Turkmenistan in Central Asia has repercussions for both the region and Australia.
In October, China’s President Xi…
The Fix: Nationalist theatre, with a twist
We’re asking contributors to put together their own collected observations like this one – and as always, if you’ve got an idea to pitch for The Interpreter, drop a line via the…