Global Issues
Fixing the plastics problem when delivering urgent aid
In March last year, twin cyclones – Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin – ravaged Vanuatu. The category four cyclones, occurring within 48 hours of each other, affected more than 240…
The need for a convention on crimes against humanity
In international law, there is a legal gap in relation to the prohibition of crimes against humanity. There is no standalone international treaty that exists codifying these…
The cable ties to China’s Digital Silk Road
Technological competition between the United States and China is transforming the physical connections that make up the digital world and its governance. China’s “Belt and Road…
Waqf-based forests: Harnessing Islamic philanthropy for climate financing in Indonesia
Domestic funding for climate resilience has been one of Indonesia’s top priorities. Going “bigger” and “better” are essential to Indonesia’s future prosperity, given the Asian…
Australia’s comparative advantage in climate transition
Australia’s $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility (SEAIFF) is a catch-all response to diverse objectives. It was a “deliverable” – or at least an “announcable” –…
China’s high ambition for the low-altitude economy
The futuristic notion of flying drones buzzing atop houses and city streets, making deliveries or even transporting passengers, might never quite eventuate. Yet governments and…
Are US export controls making China’s chip industry more innovative?
Recent reports of Chinese semiconductor chip manufacturers planning to produce 5-nanometre (nm) chips this year raise several uncomfortable questions for American efforts to…
Is the EU Australia’s blind spot in the Indo-Pacific?
Seen from Australia, the European Union may seem very distant and somehow disconnected from the Indo-Pacific. Yet, the strategic space in which Australia and the European Union…
Invisible victims: How counter-trafficking efforts leave people with disability behind
Dao (not her real name) came to Thailand from Laos when she was 17. With her hearing impairment, she had struggled to find work in Laos. Dao’s aunt told her that she could find…
Great powers vs domestic politics: The clean energy trade-off
The clean energy transition has emerged as a new frontier in the intensifying US–China strategic arms race. Energy transition minerals (ETMs) – an essential component of the shift…