Global Economy
What price will Laos need to pay to be saved, and will China pay it?
Laos offers a fascinating case study about China’s approach to debt. How much will Beijing be willing to concede on the debt owed by a friend and fellow communist country?
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Managing Japan-Australia energy tensions in a time of transition
Yamagami Shingo, who until last week served as Japan’s ambassador to Australia, again voiced criticism of Australia’s energy policy just before leaving his post. The Japanese…
Finding opportunity in Asia’s net-zero transition
The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing a surge in climate action, with nearly all countries in the region committing to achieving net-zero emissions, albeit with varying timeframes…
Economic diplomacy: Friends, rivals and diplomatic gaslighting
Hitting the gas
Japan’s ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami made himself an unexpectedly public figure in the reserved Canberra diplomatic corps with his witty social media…
Shaky foundations for the New Development Bank
Dilma Rousseff, former president of Brazil, was this month elected as the next chief of the New Development Bank. Once known as the BRICS Development Bank, and seen as an effort…
Reports
Asia Power Snapshot: China and the United States in Southeast Asia
China is more influential than the United States in a number of measures in Southeast Asia and has increased its lead over the past five years.
Economic diplomacy: Counting the cost of decoupling
Members only
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…
Climate change, ironically, reduces the heat in the South China Sea
Australia’s decision to go ahead with the purchase of nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and United Kingdom reflects a judgement that China, and more particularly…
Indonesia’s nickel superhighway
Indonesia currently has the most significant nickel deposit in the world, putting it in a prime position to build advanced industries such as renewable energy, in which rare…
Economic diplomacy: Arming up for war and trade
Guns AND butter
It took a Second World War general-turned-president in Dwight Eisenhower to provide one of the most evocative articulations of the classic government spending…