World Affairs
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The death of Henry Kissinger: Statement by Paul Keating
Henry Kissinger’s death draws to a close the epoch of intellectualism in foreign policy to which he was committed following his early study of and belief in a system of organised strategic balance and restraint of the kind that emerged from the Treaty of Westphalia in the 17th century. Continue reading »
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Suffer the little children to come unto me…
Well, not so if they are Palestinian children that Israelis keep killing time and time again. It is part of what Israelis calls ‘mowing the grass’. Continue reading »
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A briefing for Prime Minister Albanese for his discussion with President Xi
You will receive briefings from many of your advisors, including from the Office of National Intelligence. My experience is that intelligence agencies have a lot of information but they often have poor judgement. The framing of issues by our intelligence agencies very often reflects the views and habits of the US and the Anglosphere. Continue reading »
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John Mearsheimer and the decline of US hegemony
“It’s very important to understand that what’s happened is that the unipolar moment is in the rearview mirror. It’s gone. We are now in a multipolar world” Continue reading »
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Australia left isolated as neighbours demand protection of civilians at UNGA
Many Australians will be ashamed that our nation has failed to speak and vote unequivocally at the United Nations during this crisis. As a nation we cannot continue to pretend that Israel has “a right to defend itself” while Palestine has no such right and is being systematically destroyed. Continue reading »
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US must curb Israel’s revenge instinct, end Palestinian suffering by wielding its power for peace
The world is appalled that the US has backed a war of vengeance by Israel on the captive Palestinian population. A US-led global peace process is critical to ending decades of violence in the Israel-Gaza conflict. Continue reading »
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The outside world must walk Israel back from the abyss. It cannot be part of the choir of incitement
A former Israeli adviser and a former Palestinian adviser say individual member states must push harder for an end to the wanton destruction. Continue reading »
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Two global leaders poles apart on the same issue
China’s stance on war is very clear, in fact, it could not be more clear. In every conflict on the globe China calls for peaceful resolution and dialogue to resolve differences rather than force. A recently released White Paper, on the White Paper, on the Belt and Road Initiative, emphasised this calling for global peace, Continue reading »
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The Global South: A new North Star
We live in surprising times. Continue reading »
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Films that help us understand Occupied Palestine
The 12th Palestine Film Festival has been postponed. This is not the time to hold a film festival. It is time to mourn the dead, pay our respects to those suffering and work together to bring an immediate end to the ongoing atrocities against innocent civilians. Continue reading »
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The suffering people of Ukraine and Palestine- what a contrast!
This cartoon depicts the double standards of world leaders and the media to the suffering people of Ukraine and the brutality inflicted for decades on the people in Israeli occupied Palestine. Continue reading »
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The Gaza breakout is like Vietnam’s 1968 Tet offensive
The Hamas attack on Israel was part jailbreak (from Gaza, the world’s largest prison since the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto) but more than that it was a revolt of the hopeless by the hopeless for the hopeless. Continue reading »
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Palestinians will not surrender to occupation and apartheid
Every drop of Palestinian and Jewish blood shed is on the hands of the United States, Australian and Western countries politicians who closed their eyes to the aggression, occupation, ethnic cleansing, and violation of international laws and resolutions carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people for more than seventy-five years. Continue reading »
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Australian Jewish Democratic Society statement on Hamas attacks
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS) unreservedly condemns Hamas for its attack on Israel. 250 young people killed at a music festival is a massacre. That action and hostage-taking of civilians are war crimes. Continue reading »
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Palestinians, pushed beyond endurance, defend their homeland against violent apartheid
As a start, and a prompt, I once again call upon our government to recognise Palestine. Have the courage to stand up to Israel, and its primary backer, the United States. Oh, and another thing, Mr. Prime Minister, and Ms. Foreign Minister – please don’t purport to speak for all Australians when you say “Israel Continue reading »
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Support the strong, suppress the weak: West betrays Christian traditions
What is playing out on the border of Gaza and Israel is awful. Loss of civilian life is inexcusable and must be condemned. Unsurprisingly, and understandably, Biden, Albanese, Trudeau and other Western leaders have condemned the Hamas attack in the strongest possible terms. But is that all they are going to do – double down Continue reading »
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“Distorted perspective”: Kishore Mahbubani corrects journalist’s perception of China
“Thank you, I am really glad you asked that question, because your question captured very well the Anglo-Saxon media’s perception of China and I would suggest to you, very bluntly, there is a distorted perspective of reality.” – Kishore Mahbubani. Continue reading »
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China is not a threat: debunking the US narrative
In this series, I explore how US narratives on the ‘China threat’ have become entrenched in Western security communities and how a ‘China threat’ narrative has been constructed by Republicans and Democrats in the United States in an attempt to create a “rally round the flag” effect designed to internally unite a deeply divided America. Continue reading »
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Armenians need Australia’s help again
A campaign of ethnic cleansing, or what the former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, has warned may qualify as ‘Genocide’, is currently taking place against the 120,000 indigenous Christian Armenian population of Artsakh (aka Nagorno Karabakh). A historic Christian Armenian enclave within the borders of today’s Azerbaijan, its Armenian population Continue reading »
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Xenophobia and threats to Australia’s knowledge of China
The failure of the latest round of government-funded research grants to include any topics related to China weakens Australia’s capacity to understand and manage relations with the region’s biggest power, writes Louise Edwards. Continue reading »
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Regulatory certainty and entrepreneurship: Unlocking Australia-China climate collaboration
Entrepreneurs occupy a pivotal role in bridging the gap between Australia and China, especially when it comes to climate collaboration. Continue reading »
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Living with the Sino nemesis
China’s economy today is around 50 times larger, in real terms, than it was 50 years ago. A World Bank report in 2022 confirmed that during this period, China lifted at least 800 million people out of extreme poverty, contributing close to 75% of the total reduction in extreme poverty, globally. Continue reading »
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Understanding China – According to its own history and culture
In order to understand what is happening in China now and predict what may happen over the following years we must draw on Chinese history and philosophy to guide us. Relying on the western experience to guide our thinking about China may be more comforting and accessible but it leaves us in a very poor Continue reading »
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You cannot reason with an abuser
You must take away their power, and protect their victims. Continue reading »
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Sacrificing pawns in the USA’s geopolitical game
Ahead of its elections, Taiwan needs to be forewarned of putting too many eggs into the USA basket. A significant body of evidence warns that the people of Taiwan may find themselves nothing but pawns, to be sacrificed in the USA’s geopolitical game. Continue reading »
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War with China: Babbling incoherence and missing evidence
With the expansion of all services of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) – no matter that it is consistent with a defensive posture – China’s every strategic move now is rendered totally unacceptable after passing through a prism designed and issued on a complementary basis by the US. Hyper-suspicion is the attitude and threat inflation Continue reading »
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Executive overreach in Australia has reached the levels of an autocracy
Last week Australians were forced to suffer through the spectacle of their parliament being dragged to a new low as the Coalition hammered the Labor government for not being better prepared for the prospect that the Commonwealth might lose the most recent High Court case about whether indefinite detention of refugees is unlawful or unconstitutional. Continue reading »
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America, why don’t you get your bloodied hands off Hong Kong
Weaponising human rights against the city and mainland China only becomes more farcical when the US and its close allies are busy violating them. Continue reading »
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Is a re-set likely in our media’s China coverage?
Andy Park, the host of Drive on ABC Radio National, asked one of his guests the following question about Albanese’s visit to China: ‘Scoring an invitation to go to Beijing is obviously a coup for Mr Albanese. Obviously, much was said and done under the table diplomatically speaking. … Do you think the average Australian Continue reading »
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Hong Kong and a tale of three museums
Three museums in Hong Kong help us understand the complexity of Hong Kong’s past and future and highlight the importance of Asia literacy in Australia. Continue reading »
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These things don’t happen in a vacuum
Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israeli citizens was horrific. There are 2 things to bear in mind – firstly it didn’t happen in a vacuum and secondly the scale of the retaliations, the punishment, far outweighs the crime. Continue reading »
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Indonesia’s soldiers: Back where they don’t belong
In Indonesia old soldiers never die; they just infiltrate civic affairs, then grab jobs from the worthy and talented young, slowing the economy. Continue reading »
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Biden confirms he’s not the intellect he once was
Once again Biden confirms he’s not the intellect he once was. People will remember years ago when Biden was a smart, intelligent and incisive man. He was always easy to disagree with but never easy to dismiss. Now, there is a serious danger whenever he goes off-script. As he left a meeting with Xi Jinping, Continue reading »
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West must acknowledge Israel’s rights are not untrammelled
Everyone’s talking points have in bold type – ‘Israel has the right to defend itself’. This simplistic American militarist jargon is treated as if there was an untrammelled right. International law hasn’t emerged to facilitate war, but to constrain it. Continue reading »
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Beyond the mainstream media: The ‘why’ of Chinese foreign policy
China is very important for Australia. The recent Prime Ministerial visit to Beijing, the first in seven years, underscores that. The fundamental question we need to ask ourselves across all the various sectors of Australia’s multi-faceted China-interested community is, are we getting China right? Do we know as much as we think we know? If Continue reading »
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Ending Jewish Israel’s domination a “re-humanising act”: UN Special Rapporteur
Invoking a “shared humanity”, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese called for a rehumanisation discourse in the Israel/Palestine conflict, in which ending Jewish Israel’s domination would be a re-humanising act for Jewish Israelis as well. Continue reading »
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Biden forgets that the C in APEC stands for cooperation
There are 21 countries attending APEC and over 1,200 organisations from within those countries. Only one of the 21 countries, which happens to be the host, has a recent history of promoting de-coupling, or de-risking which is diametrically opposed to what APEC stands for; they seem to forget that the C means cooperation. Continue reading »
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We need a deeper understanding of Chinese politics
We need a better understanding of the complexities of Chinese politics – treating it like a ‘Black Box’ will leave us poorly equipped for a world where China is the other superpower, writes Louise Edwards. Continue reading »
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Impressions of China: political stagnation and an economy transformed
After a one week China tour organised by some Chinese entrepreneurs to mark the anniversary of the 1971 pingpong diplomacy which opened China to the outside world, two firm impressions remain. One is the extraordinary pace and dynamism of the economic, and social, progress. The other is the political stagnation, with our guides still clinging Continue reading »
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Time for Labor to focus on those who are hurting
It was only in March this year that The Sydney Morning Herald claimed in a series called Red Alert that Australia “faces the real prospect of war with China within three years that could involve a direct attack on our mainland”. There were no grounds to believe this then and even fewer after Anthony Albanese’s Continue reading »
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The ghosts in the vote machine in Indonesia
Indonesian politics is about personalities, not policy. Some among the 20,000 candidates for national and regional office at the globe’s biggest one-day ballot next year must be driven by altruism. But how to vote? Who do the dead recommend? Continue reading »
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Pivoting away from China’s manufacturing power threatens global supply chains
While the US and its allies prioritise reducing supply chain risks, reshuffling away from China, repercussions from decoupling or de-risking might pose greater concerns than the risks themselves. Such actions could bifurcate the global economy, leading to fragmented supply chains and divergent technology standards. This could hinder global economic recovery, dampen investment flows, and impede Continue reading »
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US proxy Anthony Albanese goes to Beijing
While Australia’s formal sovereignty resides with the British monarch as part of the Commonwealth, its real sovereignty is to be found somewhere in Washington. Continue reading »
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Australia-China relations: Diplomacy and a win “Without a Fight”
We should be greatly encouraged by Prime Minister Albanese’s visit to China. Isolation is always a bad thing. Dialogue is essential for relationships to be sustained or nourished. This is the most important aspect of the visit, far outweighing in importance any specific outcome. Continue reading »
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Legal case set to expose Australia’s facilitation of war crimes
Is the Albanese government aiding and abetting the Israeli military and intelligence services in actions in Gaza which are serious violations of international human rights laws? Continue reading »
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Albanese’s China visit: an ear to the future
Fifty years’ ago, the grainy black and white image of Whitlam with his ear pressed against the listening wall at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, led to the joke: What is being said to Gough? Answer: ‘Mei you!’ The ubiquities response then by Chinese service staff in restaurants and stores in those day, loosely, ‘don’t have Continue reading »
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Xi meets with Albanese in Beijing, calling PM visit ‘opening future’
“Your visit can be described as carrying on the past and opening up the future,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Beijing on Monday afternoon, citing the fact that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the trip made by Gough Whitlam, the first Australian leader to visit China. Continue reading »
