Asia
Deterrence under the dragon’s shadow: Vietnam’s military modernisation
On 5 March the USS Carl Vinson made a port call to Danang, in central Vietnam. It was the first time since the War (the Vietnam War to Americans, and the American War to…
Economic diplomacy brief: TPP trade reform, remaking aid, and Indonesian relations
Sticker shock
It says something about the political clout of car dealers that imported used cars appear to be the last bulwark between Australia and the right to claim a free…
Indonesia: millennials’ party
The young in Indonesia are finding a voice. The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), formed to win over a generation of millennial voters, is a response to what is seen as…
Timor Trough: the rumpled carpet on the sea floor
John Carlson says Australia approached maritime boundary negotiations with Indonesia in 1972 by arguing the Timor Trough was the meeting point of two geologically distinct…
Commentary
The other North Korea question: How important is the Korean Peninsula to the US?
Historians may come to see North Korea’s nuclear-armed ballistic missiles as the trigger that unravels America’s strategic leadership of Asia.
Originally published in the…
Trump, Kim, and the deal of the century
We still don’t know exactly when or where President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are going to meet, but Kim’s furtive visit to Beijing this week has heightened…
Hot take: what does Kim Jong-un’s trip to China mean?
So it’s now confirmed that Kim Jong-un went to China in the past few days to meet Xi Jinping. And apparently Xi will now go to Pyongyang.
Breaking: Photos of secret talks between…
US–North Korea summit: can Trump deliver?
An armoured train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pulled into Beijing on Monday, with a summit with China’s Xi Jinping confirmed Wednesday morning by Xinhua. Perhaps…
Mekong: more dams, more damage
The great biodiversity and precious resources of the Mekong are increasingly endangered by the rush to dam one of the world’s great rivers. A total of 11 mainstream dams and 120…
Indonesia: countering a message of hate
After the Bali bombings of 2002, security forces within the Government of Indonesia, like their Western counterparts, worked towards incorporating “ideological” or “soft”…