Asia
Taiwan and its South Pacific allies
With fleeting news coverage, President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China last month concluded official visits to Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, three…
Learning to trust: Lessons from Thailand, the US and China
Nick Bisley recently wrote in The Interpreter that mistrust between China and Australia is increasing. Could strategic trust between China and Australia improve if the two…
Analyses
The missing middle: A political economy of economic restructuring in Vietnam
Despite impressive economic performance, Vietnam’s strong trade and investment gains have yet to fully overcome the vestiges of its economic past.
Matthew Busch
Japan: Shinzo Abe wrestles with constitutional change
Wednesday 29 November in Tokyo, and the morning's breaking news was not Kim Jong-Un firing another missile but that sumo grand champion Haruma Fuji had announced his…
The ill-advised rush for Australia to strike a trade deal with Indonesia
Negotiations for the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) entered extra time this week, as negotiators agreed to add an 11th round (the 7th…
What a realistic solution to Myanmar’s Rakhine State crisis might look like
Myanmar and Bangladesh recently announced an agreement for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh to return to Myanmar. After Pope Francis visited both…
How America can build a durable military balance in Asia
During his tour of East Asia last month, US President Donald Trump visited five countries, but Americans could be forgiven for thinking that he only went to China, given the US…
The symbolic politics of the Dokdo/Takeshima dispute
In recent years, maritime disputes have become highly visible microcosms of broader contests in the Indo-Pacific region. While much attention has been paid to disputes in the…
The Korean Peninsula’s year in review
This has been a rollercoaster year for the Korean Peninsula. The South Koreans impeached their president. The North Koreans tested dozens of rockets, including…
Post-Soviet states feel lure of (Chinese) socialism
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang's visit to Hungary for the sixth China-Central and Eastern Europe Countries (CEEC) Summit last week demonstrates that China has become an…