Australia and Asia
Abe's Canberra speech: Dispelling doubts
Prime Minister Abe's carefully crafted speech to the Australian parliament gave credence to Prime Minister Abbott's much tut-tutted claim that Japan is Australia's best friend in…
Hillary Clinton's trade warning: Can China coerce Australia?
Hillary Clinton believes Australia is too economically dependent on China, warning that dependence could 'undermine your freedom of movement and your sovereignty — economic and…
Beijing targets Chinese-language media and diaspora in Australia
John Fitzgerald's article on Chinese and Australian values is fascinating throughout, but I wanted to highlight a few passages. This I didn't know:
Beijing has gained…
Australia in Asia: Who is our best friend?
When Australians were asked to nominate 'Australia's best friend in Asia' in the 2014 Lowy Institute Poll, 31% placed China and 28% placed Japan in a statistical dead heat, far…
SBY: Abbott says farewell to a friend of Australia
Tony Abbott has effectively said farewell to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president of Indonesia.
Our prime minister was right to praise him. SBY has presided over remarkable…
Abbott-SBY: It was just a courtesy call, not a mending of ties
This morning, eminent University of Indonesia law professor Hikmahanto Juwana issued a press release in response to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's telephone call to President Susilo…
Interview: Malcolm Fraser on 'Dangerous Allies'
Yesterday I had a long and fascinating talk with former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser, who has just released Dangerous Allies, his new book calling for a substantially…
Why Bob Carr's book matters
It was all a trick. A simple scam played on a clueless tabloid media to sell more books. And didn't they oblige! As soon as Bob Carr's Diary of a Foreign Minister hit the shelves…
Australia all in with the Joint Strike Fighter
'Together with the Super Hornet and Growler electronic warfare aircraft, the F-35 aircraft will ensure Australia maintains a regional air combat edge', Prime Minister Abbott said…
US pivot is faltering, which might be a good thing
By Geoff Miller, former Australian Ambassador to Japan (1986-89) and former Director-General of the Office of National Assessments (1989-95).
In their Interpreter article of 27…