Asia
Pacific Island Links: Vanuatu election, PNG finances, a 'Facebook for fieldworkers', and more
By Alastair Davis, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Melanesia program
The election campaign is underway in Vanuatu and the Melanesian Spearhead Group and the Commonwealth have…
North Korea diplomacy: Irresistible forces and immovable objects
North Korea's nuclear test on 6 January was not a surprise. Over the past year the single cause for speculation was about how long Pyongyang would postpone the test.
At first…
North Korea's nuclear test not all bad news for China
Media attention since North Korea's nuclear test yesterday has been focused on the veracity of its claims to have exploded a thermonuclear device or 'hydrogen bomb'. This is…
Why China's next aircraft carrier will be based on Soviet blueprints
China has at last formally acknowledged that it has a new aircraft carrier under construction, the first to be built in China and the second in the People's Liberation Army-Navy…
Pacific links: Fiji's budget, Ok Tedi restructure, renewables, holiday reading and more
Matthew Dornan takes a look at Fiji’s 2016 budget. He notes that while the overall economic situation in Fiji is sound, the major policy reversals and long list of ad hoc…
How Australia can use economic diplomacy to get closer to Asia
There is more to be said about Martin Parkinson's speech on US economic diplomacy, and in particular how Australian attention has been diverted from the challenge of developing…
Analyses
Russia’s Asian rebalance
In this Lowy Institute Analysis, Dr Matthew Sussex surveys the security, energy, and regional engagement implications of Russia’s pivot to Asia and argues that despite numerous…
Pacific Island links: leaders in Paris, REDD+, budget woes, asbestos, ending AIDS and more
Pacific Island leaders are in Paris in force for the COP 21 United Nations conference on climate change. Leaders from Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia,…
Analyses
Chinese worldviews and China’s foreign policy
Four key narratives help explain the way that China acts in and interprets the world, providing a more nuanced guide to China’s aims and ambitions and helping to shape more…
Commentary
America’s mixed maritime signals in the South China Sea
America’s mixed maritime signals in the South China SeaEuan GrahamFinancial Times19 November 2015Please click here for the online text.Euan Graham