Asia
Myanmar’s fourth estate
The arrest in Myanmar of two Reuters journalists, accused of possessing secret government papers, has put the spotlight on the freedom of the press and the country’s weak justice…
Economic diplomacy brief: India ties, Labor on BRI
Passage to India
Two statistics in the new report to the Australian Government on the future economic relationship with India underline how this is going to be a battle…
“Poor old” China meets “poor young” Africa
The success of China’s reform and opening program across 40 years has shifted the nation from backwater to the centre of global growth, lifting 800 million people from poverty in…
North Korea also an intelligence test for Trump
It is not only Donald Trump’s wavering, on-and-off attacks on the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election that betrays his distrust of intelligence agencies…
What has gone wrong in Cambodia?
Concerns ahead of Cambodia’s elections on 29 July centre on the judgement that under Prime Minister Hun Sen the country has become increasingly authoritarian in political…
India’s demographic timebomb
In India, it’s all about the age of 25: that’s the median age of the entire country, and there are 600 million Indians, more than half the population, who are aged 25 or…
The Grey List: more trouble for Pakistan’s economy
On 28 June, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put Pakistan on its “Grey List”. The country now has up to 15 months to improve its control of terror financing and money…
Koreas, gas pipelines, and Russia’s ties that bind
Just as South Korea is an ally of the US yet doesn’t fully trust President Donald Trump, North Korea deals with Russia but does not completely trust Moscow. Pyongyang…
Australia and India: different worlds
Peter Varghese’s independent report on Australia’s economic strategy for India, released by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week, sounds a confident note for the…
Thai cave rescue: no country for Wild Boars
The rescue last week of the Wild Boars boys soccer team trapped by floodwaters in a cave in Thailand’s north captured the world’s attention. Beyond the drama and difficulties of…