18 May 2021
Long-ago battle in Solomon Islands keeps claiming lives
Locals should not be forced to live in fear of the hidden menace still posed by explosive wartime remnants.
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18 May 2021
A rare test of China diplomacy
Australia and New Zealand provide a case for whether it pays to be nice – or if it’s simply not worth bothering. -
17 May 2021
London and Hong Kong: Financial centres in parallel peril
Once mighty, two beacons of the modern global economy are shrouded by political clouds. -
14 May 2021
Russia–China: An Unholy Alliance?
There is substantial – although not complete – policy convergence on international issues. -
13 May 2021
Indonesia responds to the cyber dark side
Australia will also benefit from practical bilateral cooperation to enhance Indonesia’s cyber security. -
13 May 2021
Myanmar and a new kind of civil war
Urban dissidents trained by battle-hardened guerillas in the countryside could make things harder for the Tatmadaw. -
12 May 2021
Australian aid: How low can it go?
As the developing world suffers a crisis unlike any ever seen, the budget shows Australia at its least generous ever. -
12 May 2021
India’s Covid-19 wave is spreading south
Will South India’s health system hold up to its promise in the second wave of Covid? -
12 May 2021
Andrew Peacock’s Timor legacy
Remembered as a principled defender of human rights, the late foreign minister took a different tack with Suharto. -
11 May 2021
Biden’s North Korea review is a diplomatic victory for Moon Jae-in
South Korea’s president has won the new administration in Washington over to his way of thinking. -
11 May 2021
Do Belt and Road projects provide local benefits?
The assumption that China’s overseas infrastructure projects only run on Chinese labour is in need of a reality check. -
10 May 2021
Closed borders: The unequal waiting game
Old notions about international mobility will need to be revised, especially for students travelling abroad. -
10 May 2021
China’s innovation dilemma
Tech advances have been impressive, but constraints on business productivity and imagination are a major obstacle. -
10 May 2021
A breadcrumb trail as Europe responds to a rising China
With an EU Indo-Pacific strategy in the works, finding common ground in security and foreign policy remains a challenge. -
7 May 2021
Royal rifts: Implications of Jordan’s family feud
A supposed coup, a would-be king and restless youth. Trouble is brewing in the Hashemite kingdom. -
7 May 2021
Post-Covid disaster governance in Southeast Asia
The pandemic revealed a narrow focus on natural hazards, lacking the systems needed for an increasingly complex world. -
6 May 2021
Economic diplomacy: Patent politics and trade deal twists
President Biden moves to suspend vaccine patents, RCEP ramps up, IA-CEPA gets a lesson and US dollar reserves tank. -
6 May 2021
Philippines community pantries give help – and send a message
Filipinos are putting the Duterte administration on notice that its efforts to help during the pandemic fall short. -
6 May 2021
Biden’s North Korea plans come into view
Short on details, the US president’s policy positions still leave plenty of room for speculation. -
5 May 2021
Authoritarians seek advantage in India’s Covid crisis
China and Russia are on a vaccine drive across South Asia to deliver on India’s fast-vanishing promises. -
5 May 2021
Is North Korea expertise all talk?
The debate around understanding one of the world’s most reclusive nations centres on the question of language. -
4 May 2021
India’s power illusion
Ambition now looks like arrogance as New Delhi’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in disaster. -
4 May 2021
Pakistani Taliban turn on China
Any friend of the government in Islamabad appears to be an enemy of the terrorist group. -
4 May 2021
Australia keeps calm while China carries on
In the face of sustained coercion, Canberra has rejected the urge to seek economic revenge against Beijing. -
3 May 2021
India: Smoke and mirrors
India’s terrible Covid tragedy, still on the rise, reveals who really keeps the country from falling apart. -
3 May 2021
State of mind: How Australians see the pandemic and efforts to help
New polling by the Lowy Institute looks at Australians’ attitudes to Covid-19 responses at home and abroad. -
3 May 2021
The Davis aerodrome and Australia’s leadership in the Antarctic
How can Australia pretend to uphold the ATS while pursuing a project that risks unprecedented ecological impact? -
30 Apr 2021
China’s climate pivot could reshape the economic future
Many of the same arguments persist as international climate negotiations enter a fourth decade. But actions matter. -
30 Apr 2021
Telephone diplomacy: Joe Biden signals a new approach towards Turkey
In acknowledging the Armenian genocide, the US president has created waves with a long-standing ally. -
30 Apr 2021
Taiwan: Renewing a southbound vision
Increasing economic ties with Southeast Asia has been a success for Tsai Ing-wen. She should look beyond to India, too. -
29 Apr 2021
Some reflections on the “anonymous Xinjiang paper”
We should debate those we disagree with. But engagement must be based on a good faith assessment of evidence. -
29 Apr 2021
China’s leap into space
The newly launched space station has no crew as yet, but the invite list makes for plenty of speculation. -
29 Apr 2021
Response to Myanmar coup shows need for UN reform
Veto power on the Security Council too often obstructs action in the face of atrocities. Here are some ways around it. -
28 Apr 2021
Power politics lies behind how new countries are born – or not
History shows a resounding referendum – like recently in Bougainville – is not alone in deciding future independence. -
27 Apr 2021
Guiding Myanmar away from ruin
Many Southeast Asian nations have struggled with authoritarianism. Maybe the family can steer Myanmar straight. -
27 Apr 2021
High hopes and hot air on climate change
Good pledges, moral suasion and new impetus for accountability have yet to sway the recalcitrant. -
27 Apr 2021
Pakistan’s extremist dilemma
The government banned a right-wing religious group, then gave in to its demands. Which way does it go now? -
26 Apr 2021
Indonesia raises ASEAN’s bar on Myanmar
President Joko Widodo had nothing to gain domestically in calling a special summit. But in not failing, he succeeded. -
26 Apr 2021
Bhutan: Happy days for the jab in between a strategic pinch
The rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations is a remarkable achievement for the kingdom. More tests lie ahead. -
23 Apr 2021
Timor-Leste’s floods and Covid lockdown aggravate political rifts
Mounting crises raise questions about infrastructure spending, the uses of oil wealth and the need for elite consensus. -
23 Apr 2021
Malaysia’s political turmoil has an economic cost
With parliament suspended and a pandemic-induced shock, necessary and serious reform seems a long way off. -
22 Apr 2021
Economic diplomacy: Supply chains, ASEAN wanes, and Japan’s coal dump
Will government have to pick a winner for 6G networks to show the US and Japan as “global leaders in innovation”? -
22 Apr 2021
China drops the mask on its global ambition
Xi Jinping’s Boao Forum speech this week revealed a surprisingly status quo orientation to the international order. -
22 Apr 2021
Toxic reaction to Japan’s Fukushima water dump
Experts insist the release of treated radioactive water is not dangerous. Legal challenges might find otherwise. -
21 Apr 2021
China’s Twitter trolls make bid for vacant Trump property
“Own the libs” obnoxiousness failed, but China’s social media diplomats haven’t all got the memo. -
21 Apr 2021
Indonesia gambles on special ASEAN summit on Myanmar
Joko Widodo may have an eye to his legacy by inviting the junta to Jakarta, but it could also cost his prestige. -
21 Apr 2021
India’s failure to include enough women in politics
The world’s largest democracy has barely begun to draw on half its pool of candidates. -
20 Apr 2021
“America’s back” in the Paris Agreement. For how long?
Climate politics is enjoying an optimistic moment, but a Trumpist rerun would be ruinous for environmental diplomacy. -
20 Apr 2021
Roosevelt’s lessons for nations across generations
Over a century ago, Theodore Roosevelt declared “the quality of the leaders is all-important”. It’s as true now as then. -
20 Apr 2021
Accountability is the path to better governance in PNG
A more inclusive environment and more responsive public-service initiatives will lessen the citizen-state divide.