Asia
Dizzy with success: Xi consolidates repression in Xinjiang
China’s President Xi Jinping undertook what state media have termed an “inspection tour” of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region between 12 and 15 July. Those hoping that this…
Bongbong Marcos tries the balancing act with Beijing and Washington
When Ferdinand Marcos Jr (aka Bongbong Marcos) won the Philippines presidency in May, his victory was quickly read to be a highly favourable development for China. But several…
What a waste! Japan’s food sustainability challenge
Japan is famous for its “mottainai” culture, often translated as “what a waste!”, which encourages people to reduce what is discarded from their everyday lives. At the same time,…
The Indonesia Investment Authority: Jokowi’s trouble-shooter?
Since President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) entered office in 2014, his priority has been infrastructure construction, with his re-election in 2019 partly due to the government’s…
India’s social media crackdown is a challenge to the rules-based order
It has been an eventful 18-months in the battle between the Modi government in India and foreign technology companies.In February 2021, the Modi government introduced new laws on…
The shadow of Abe
From the breaking news notification in Japanese media around 11:30 in the morning on 8 July to vision a few days later of his hearse driving by the institutions of party and…
The Quad needs a futures focus
If there is a cumulative lesson from the past few years, it’s that the era of “polycrises” is firmly upon us. A polycrisis is defined as the net effect from the non-linear…
Commentary
Penny Wong targets Asia’s missing middle
As the PM talks to NATO, Penny Wong has toured the anxious middle nations of South-East Asia keen to hedge their bets with the great powers. Originally published in the Australian…
Australians worry about China and muscle-flexing over Taiwan
“China’s development is an opportunity instead of a threat to Australia,” claimed China’s Ambassador to Australia at a recent address in Sydney. “There is every reason for China…
Taking on Cambodia’s “Lady Liberty”
Theary Seng certainly knows how to attract attention. The prominent Cambodian-American human rights lawyer and activist was dressed as “Lady Liberty”, draped in…