Asia
Australia–Japan defence deal: noteworthy, not newsworthy
Pity the news subeditor in summertime Australia. It’s January, the days are languid, and even the Trump administration can’t fill the entire World News section. Unsurprisingly,…
Japan: Shinzo Abe faces challenges across the board
As news outlets in Japan summed up the year that was and the year ahead, Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s most widely read (and notably pro-government) newspaper featured its top 10…
Despite the controversy, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is a success
The genocidal nightmare of the Khmer Rouge finally came to an end on 7 January 1979, 39 years ago this month. Evidence mass of graves and some of the worst crimes of the 20th…
Economic diplomacy brief: Trump turns global, Pacific aid, Chinese tourism, and more
Davos men
With the North Korean nuclear threat seemingly sidelined until after the Winter Olympics at least, this geopolitical year is starting in a curiously similar way to last…
Macron’s mission to China
During French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to China, which concluded last week, his choice to gift China's Xi Jinping with a horse was apparently prompted by Xi's words of…
Duterte unchecked
Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines, is a quarter of the way through his single six-year term under the current constitution. So far, he is changing the office…
What Rahul Gandhi’s rise means for Indian politics
Last month's long-awaited ascension of Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India's Nehru–Gandhi political dynasty, to the presidency of the Indian National Congress marks a new era for the…
The ‘Olympic truce’ poses a test for the US–South Korean alliance
The resumption of dialogue between North and South Korea after a two-year hiatus marks a step back from nuclear brinkmanship and a diplomatic victory for South Korea’s Moon Jae-in…
Babri Masjid – India’s flashpoint
On 6 December 1992 thousands of Hindu fanatics tore down a medieval mosque in the temple town of Ayodhya, in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The demolition of the 16th…
China’s agenda behind inter-Korean talks
The first two weeks of 2018 have seen a significant thaw in inter-Korean tensions. In the highest-level talks between North and South Korea since December 2015, Pyongyang agreed…