Asia
Burma: A critical look at those chemical weapons claims
Since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, strategic analysts monitoring developments in Burma (Myanmar) have been on quite a roller-coaster ride, particularly with regard to weapons…
South Korea: One year in, assessing Park Geun-Hye's presidency
On 25 February 2013, Park Geun-Hye was inaugurated as president of the Republic of Korea. She is the RoK's first female president and its sixth democratically elected head of…
Why Asian economies are not about to repeat the 1997-98 financial crisis
The business press is full of dire predictions about sudden capital outflows from emerging economies, with a growing list of 'fragile' countries. Few commentators can resist…
Interview: Danny Russel on the status of the US rebalance
Daniel (Danny) Russel is US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, which means he is the State Department's senior Asia diplomat (he succeeded Kurt…
Spying row: Why Indonesia is tougher on Canberra than on Washington
Australia has copped the ire and sarcasm of Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa over fresh spying allegations reported in the New York Times last weekend. Meanwhile, the…
Meet Indonesia's middle class (part 3): Votes and voices
This is the third in a four-part series on Indonesia's growing middle class. Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here.
In Indonesia, the word for 'vote' is the same as the word for …
Indo-Pacific security links: Kerry in Jakarta, Japan-China history, the pivot, Top Gun and more
Brendan Thomas-Noone is an intern in the Lowy Institute's International Security Program.
Multiple lines of communication over maritime, nuclear and space issues are what helped…
China's navy showing its inexperience on the open oceans
The US Navy has formed the view that the November 2013 incident between the American cruiser Cowpens and the Chinese carrier group arose directly from the PLA Navy's lack of…
Meet Indonesia's middle class
This is the first post in a four-part series on Indonesia's growing middle class.
It's 6:15am on a Sunday morning, and waves of people are breaking over the Sudirman traffic…
China's naval exercise: Jakarta Post story raises new questions
China's Indo-Pacific naval exercise, which I first analysed in this post, is continuing to make waves, with David Wroe of the Sydney Morning Herald providing this good wrap-up on…