United States
Modi-Trump meeting: Signs of continued convergence
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inaugural visit to the Trump White House this week was fraught with uncertainty, with recent irritations in the relationship (visas and climate…
Back in focus: The United Nations Command in South Korea
Following his recent speech at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis was asked a question about North Korea. This excerpt from his answer…
Commentary
US manoeuvres in the South China Sea are not provocative
Originally published in the Financial Times
Aaron L Connelly
The liberal order is not America’s to break
As the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union imploded, many attributed the change entirely to American power. The hubristic ‘unipolar moment’ claim was not only wrong as…
When will Australia acknowledge a changed America?
Since the election of Donald Trump, a great deal of faith – naturally enough – has been put in the very occurrence of encounters that Australian ministers and prime…
AUSMIN: For the US, a refreshingly ‘normal’ meeting
The Australia-US Ministerial Consultation (AUSMIN) on Monday was noteworthy for how normal it was. The meeting stood in stark contrast to the recent NATO Summit, where President…
Nuclear ban treaty progresses, despite US-led objections
On 27 March, as more than 130 nations began work on a historic treaty to outlaw nuclear weapons, roughly a dozen diplomats protested outside the grand UN General Assembly hall,…
Why Australia should send more military advisers to Afghanistan
Australia has an interesting record on troop commitments over the last two decades. We have committed, withdrawn, and recommitted at an eye-watering rate. One has trouble…
China v US: Who needs allies?
People often argue that America’s alliances in Asia are a decisive advantage in its contest with China for regional strategic primacy. China’s only ally, they say, is North Korea,…
Why Trump’s Middle East trip matters to Australia
There are two reasons why US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East matters to Australia.
First, the President’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he also held a summit…