Asia
China’s nine-dash line proves stranger than fiction
Vietnam recently banned the film Uncharted from domestic distribution due to a scene depicting an “illegal image” of China’s infamous “nine-dash line”.
This is not the first time…
Commentary
Indonesians may be wary of Australia but they trust China even less - and we should embrace their independent spirit
Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Thinking outside the box on Southeast Asian maritime security
The Southeast Asian maritime domain continues to be fraught. The Covid-19 pandemic brought about an observable increase in transnational crimes such as smuggling – at first,…
Can Shah Rukh Khan help India “Act East”?
Of all the findings about how Indonesians view the world revealed by the Lowy Institute Indonesia Poll, it was notable that India fared rather unfavourably. The poll revealed…
Britain in Southeast Asia: How to keep old friends newly engaged
The United Kingdom became ASEAN’s newest dialogue partner in 2021 soon after launching its Indo-Pacific tilt. In the new diplomatic life after Brexit, the UK’s renewed…
How Japan can help nudge India away from Russia
Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited India last month ahead of a G7 summit. With India hesitant to criticise Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Japanese media speculated…
Economic diplomacy: Priorities shift amid a budget aid boost
Back to the future
The Morrison government gave the development aid sector an unexpected surprise with a budget spending increase mostly in the Pacific, just as the latest crisis…
The mysterious missing UN report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
Delivering an annual report to the United Nations Human Rights Council last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet announced she would undertake an…
Protecting law and order at sea means educating people on their rights
In recent years, the rise of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities, transnational organised crime at sea, expansion of terrorist networks and activities by…
Democracy or dynasty? Megawati delivers Jokowi a clip
A video clip dating from 2019 featuring Indonesia’s former president Megawati Sukarnoputri has caused a stir on Indonesian social media in recent weeks. The video shows Megawati,…