Asia
First Nations diplomacy can transform Australia’s relationship with Indonesia
In 1994, then-Australian prime minister, Paul Keating famously said that “no country is more important to Australia than Indonesia”. Yet the relationship has also been a rocky one…
Why the WHO needs Taiwan
In late 2021, just outside Taipei, a highly pathogenic coronavirus leaked from a lab.
It happened in a high-containment…
Europe’s divisions over China could hamper G-7 unity
While the focus of the G-7 meeting in Hiroshima this week will be on Russia, the gathering leaders will have China on their minds. But could differences in Europe over how best to…
Timor-Leste update: Parliamentary elections and a roadmap to ASEAN membership
It’s a newsy time for Timor-Leste. Voters go to the polls on 21 May for parliamentary elections, the results of which will reverberate beyond the island nation’s borders. In…
Thailand’s election: will the country move forward?
After Sunday’s remarkable “orange wave” victory for Thailand’s progressive Move Forward party, the big question is whether the Kingdom’s conservative forces will allow Move…
Foreign policy China-style: beyond protocol and alcohol
There are phases in international relations when diplomacy between some countries is unfortunately reduced to protocol and alcohol. Such phases are never entirely intentional. No…
New party offers chance for disability inclusion in Timor-Leste
Partido Verdes de Timor-Leste – a new political party contesting in Timor-Leste’s upcoming 21 May election – has committed to send a person with disability to parliament if…
China to the rescue, with peace plans for Saudi, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan – up to a point
In another sign of its increasingly prolific international diplomacy, China last month released an 11-point position paper on the “Afghan Issue”. China’s Afghan démarche came just…
My decade watching the Korean peninsula: the delicacy of peace
North Korea cut off the military hot lines with South Korea, blamed Seoul’s hardline policy for the chill in relations, and threatened retaliation over military drills with the…
The disproportionate attention on the Solomons-China security pact
In his statement delivered during the March 2022 parliament session, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare described the then recently revealed security pact between…