Asia
How Russia loses allies amid the war in Ukraine
Russia continues to lose influence around the world, above all in the post-Soviet space. The Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) seems to be the last…
Sanctions help bring accountability in Bangladesh
On 10 December 2021 – International Human Rights Day – the Biden administration in the United States levied sanctions against the Bangladeshi elite force, the Rapid Action…
Japan and ASEAN: 50 years of maritime strategy
In a partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that now spans 50 years, Japan has played an important role in addressing the non-traditional maritime security…
Reality-checking the democracy agenda
Eight months into the Labor administration led by Anthony Albanese, Australia has begun to reinvoke, albeit cautiously, the idea of supporting democracy and a rules-based order in…
How will China’s punitive trade restrictions against Australia end?
Recent reports of an imminent meeting between Australia’s and China’s trade ministers have raised hopes of progress toward the removal of the trade restrictions that China imposed…
How an Australian freed an unfinished nation’s history
Book review: Indonesia out of Exile: How Pramoedya’s Buru Quartet Killed a Dictatorship, by Max Lane (Penguin, 2023)
Australia’s relationships with Indonesia are usually…
Link start-ups ecosystems to build influence in Southeast Asia
In 2019, Indonesian President Joko Widodo surprised many when he appointed 35-year old Nadiem Makarim as Minister for Education and Culture. Makarim had risen to prominence as the…
“If the problem becomes more serious”: South Korea talks going nuclear
The political and security environment on the Korean Peninsula has changed dramatically over the past year, with tensions reaching new levels because of continuous confrontations…
Towards meaningful Quad cooperation on intelligence
The Quad has a lot on its plate. The informal grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States began modestly, but stepped up its ambition two years ago, with regular…
Undue suspicion of Chinese Australian scientists slows progress
With technological competition now at the centre of the geostrategic rivalry between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, scientific exchange and collaboration…