Asia
Mekong River: Turning declaration into actions
Laos hosted a four-day Mekong River Commission leadership summit and conference last week, focusing on this vital waterway for Southeast Asia.
Australia has been engaged in the…
Economic diplomacy: Counting the cost of decoupling
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Indonesia took one for the team in an era of minilaterals and “friendshoring” last week when it argued the case for its poorest neighbours to join the latest…
Taiwan: Far from lost in translation, Macron said exactly what he meant
Returning from a trip to Beijing, President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview this week to journalists from Politico and French newspaper Les Echos. His words, especially when…
The urgent humanitarian need to get diplomats back to Afghanistan
The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. Even before the withdrawal of international forces and the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan was one of the world…
Australia’s delicate dance with the United States and China
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is a precise and disciplined speaker, minimalist in her articulation of the Biden administration’s wide-ranging policy towards its…
What does China want in Ukraine?
Strategic clarity arises in a crisis. When the world is relatively stable, the strategic calculations of the major powers are deliberately couched and clouded. Conflicts clear our…
Russia foreign policy: the search for new friends
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to its near-complete political and economic estrangement from the West. This has obliged Moscow to intensify reorientation of its foreign…
China is its own worst enemy
On 3 April, the Philippines government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr formally unveiled four additional locations where US forces will be permitted to operate. Two of those…
What of the Rohingya? The ICC, Ukraine, and limits of “international” justice
The International Criminal Court has sent a strong message to Russia’s government and beyond that war crimes should – and sometimes can – be prosecuted by issuing two arrest…
To help end war in Ukraine, the Quad should back India to engage Russia
India has grown a reputation as a “global swing state”, an old term that has taken on a new resonance in the context of New Delhi’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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