United States
US under pressure to conclude compact agreements in the North Pacific
Little information has emerged about how negotiations for the renewal of the Compact of Free Association (COFA) between the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the United…
The US–Pacific Islands Partnership, one year on
Last September, the United States made some big promises to Pacific Island Countries (PICs) at its first ever Pacific Leaders’ Summit. The brief follow-up summit scheduled to take…
The Camp David Agreement’s shallow foundations
On 18 August at Camp David, Japan, the United States and South Korea optimistically hailed “a new era of trilateral partnership”. Korean domestic politics and the vexed history of…
Seychelles: Washington comes calling
The United States has announced it is reopening its embassy in Seychelles. The mission, opened at independence in 1976, was closed as a cost cutting measure in 1996 coincident…
Amid great power visits, don’t underestimate middle power cooperation
This week, US President Joe Biden visited Vietnam as part of a trip “to strengthen alliances around the world to maintain stability”. One widely reported outcome is the…
Climate justice: friendshoring, China’s supremacy and America’s IR Act
When the Inflation Reduction Act (IR Act) passed the US Congress in August 2022, it was acclaimed as the largest, most ambitious climate change investment in American history. The…
Indo-Pacific strategy: Uniting all the players on the board
With US President Joe Biden expected “shortly” to visit Vietnam, it is increasingly evident that America needs a more unified strategy for the Indo-Pacific. The present approach…
Australia and the UN: A new agenda for peace
Last month, a New Agenda for Peace (NA4P) policy brief was released by the United Nations, outlining a vision for tackling today’s major challenges to peace and security. Among…
The social licence for AUKUS has not yet been earned
The Australian Labor Party is firmly committed to the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines, at least according to the unopposed motion passed at last week’s ALP National Conference…
Bridging the divide: the significance of the US-South Korea-Japan trilateral
The Philippines may be the oldest US treaty ally in Asia, but South Korea and Japan are arguably the closest. The US-South Korea mutual defence treaty will turn 70 years…