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Category Archives: International Affairs
GHADA KARMI.- Palestinian Rights.(LRB 5.12.2019)
A Palestinian State-Constantly Dangled, Endlessly Receding
Posted in International Affairs
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RAMESH THAKUR. The half-century miracle of Asian resurgence (Japan Times 6-1-20)
Is Japan Asian? Geographically, this is a silly question. Yet in an age in which identity politics have become increasingly critical, by economic logic, political orientation and geopolitical alliance, Japan is Western.
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
1 Comment
PATRICK COCKBURN.-Blundering into War(LRB 2.1.2020)
What Trump doesn’t know about Iran
Posted in International Affairs
2 Comments
MACK WILLIAMS. Alliance management ” It’s the elections now…stupid”!
The New Year has confirmed that the US Presidential election cycle is up and running and will pick up speed soon to dominate all forms of political discussion in the US until November. To paraphrase that old American cliché : … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
1 Comment
PETER RODGERS: Human rights in Xinjiang and Gaza.(A Repost 22.10.2019)
US and Australian responses to China’s maltreatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and Israel’s blockade of Gaza reveal glaring double standards. But no worse perhaps than those of many Muslim states hungry for China’s largesse.
Posted in Human Rights, International Affairs
2 Comments
JOHN MENADUE. Our aggressive and violent ally is perpetually at war. An update from 9.8.2019
There is growing concern about Chinese ‘influence’. At the same time we seem unconcerned that we have ceded much of our defence and foreign policy autonomy to the United States. Chinese influence is minor compared with the control that we … Continue reading
Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs
2 Comments
MINXIN PEI. Bush’s disastrous Iraq war paved the way for China’s rise. Is Trump about to make the same mistake?(SCMP and Project Syndicate 10.1.2020)
China joined the WTO and grew into an economic giant in the time the US was fixated on fighting al-Qaeda. It’s a lesson Trump appears not to have learned
Posted in International Affairs, Politics
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JOCELYN CHEY Two Systems One Strait
The re-election of Tsai Ying-wen at the weekend ensures the continuation of the status quo as far as relations between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic across the Strait.
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
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MIKE SCRAFTON. NATO, the Middle East and the policy vacuum
The Iran crisis has inspired three public utterances of relevance to Australia’s foreign and strategic policy; from, in chronological order, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, President Trump, and our own inestimable Prime Minister. Collectively, they reveal the real depths of the … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
4 Comments
DUNCAN GRAHAM.-Indonesian Free Trade – not there yet
For much of 2019’s last quarter Australian rural journals and politicians were forecasting a bonanza.But some reality is overdue
Posted in Economy, International Affairs, Politics
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MELISSA PARKE.-“Support for Palestinian rights is not anti-Semitic” (The West Australian 8.1.2020)
I had but dipped my toes back into federal politics via a bid for Julie Bishop’s former seat of Curtin when the campaign was over.
Posted in Human Rights, International Affairs, Politics
13 Comments
JOHN TULLOH. Beware of whom you threaten, Mr Trump.
There is no tougher nut to crack in the Middle East than Iran. It is ferocious in its Shia Islamic nationalism. It has a proud historical heritage going back 2500 years to Cyrus the Great and the fabled Persian empire.
Posted in International Affairs
1 Comment
MIKE SCRAFTON. The re-election of Donald Trump
The biggest question in geopolitics is; will President Trump be re-elected? This issue will be prominent in the private councils of Heads of Government in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. However, the American presidential election will be determined by domestic issues … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
2 Comments
CAVAN HOGUE – The Trumpet shall sound, And we shall be razed!
Australia’s response to US Trumpeting in Iraq has been muted and said nothing about whether we agree in principle that it is acceptable to assassinate foreign nationals in other countries. Russia in Britain?
Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs
7 Comments
MIKE SCRAFTON. Iran, the US, and Australia
The Middle East situation now falls outside the province of rational analytical discourse. Small events might provoke unimaginably large and uncontrollable responses.
Posted in International Affairs
12 Comments
RAMESH THAKUR. Modi’s project to make a Hindu India (East Asia Forum 30-12-19)
When Scott Morrison visits India later this month, he should temper his marketing enthusiasm. The Modi government is fast-tracking India into uncharted territory despite a forest of flashing amber signs of dangers ahead.
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
3 Comments
JOHN MENADUE, GREG DODDS. The Asian Century and the Australian Smoko. A repost from 30 December 2013
The Asian Century and the Australian Smoko was first published in April 2012. This repost might be interesting holiday reading.(There has been little improvement in 8years .John Menadue)
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
1 Comment
KERRY BROWN.-Everything remains up for stakes in Hong Kong. (EAF 29.12.2019)
This year was a torrid time for the city of Hong Kong and one where the year’s end brought only a little respite.The complacent image of Hong Kong being a place of political passivity conveyed throughout the period under British … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, International Affairs, Politics
4 Comments
JOHN MENADUE. The anti-China ‘think tank’ receives farewell largesse from the Coalition. (A Repost from 5.4.2019)
The ASPI is not an ‘independent’ think tank that it claims to be. It is ‘joined at the hip’ to the US defence/arms and intelligence complex and an enthusiastic supporter of almost all things American. Fed by our intelligence agencies … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
2 Comments
STUART REES Politics determines ICC investigation of Israeli war crimes
After five years of procrastination, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor has announced an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. From Palestinians’ perspectives that may sound encouraging, but the rules of … Continue reading
Posted in Human Rights, International Affairs, Politics
3 Comments
NURADZIMMAH DAIM.- Dr Mahathir Poses Questions on Muslim World Issues (Malaysian New Straits Times 19.12.2019)
As the Kuala Lumpur Summit kicks off today, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad raises issues in the Muslim world, calling delegates to ponder on the root causes as they seek for solutions. Muslim nations are in a state of … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs, Religion and Faith
1 Comment
JOCELYN CHEY China: Where To From Here?
A series of posts on this blog in the last two weeks have highlighted aspects of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that are often overlooked in discussion of the bilateral relationship. We have to get used to living with … Continue reading
Posted in China Series
1 Comment
JINGQING YANG. China’s enduring core values.
China. The public health care system is getting better and Australia can help. The health care system in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was once a grave social concern and a major reason behind public disapproval of the government, … Continue reading
Posted in China Series
4 Comments
MOBO GAO. China finding its place in the world.
China: A Country with Soft and Hard Power Australians need to understand more about Chinese hard and soft power, given the weight of the Chinese economy in world trade and the role of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in … Continue reading
Posted in China Series
4 Comments
JOCELYN CHEY. Immutable China?
China is often described as a nation with unchanging values and an alien culture, inscrutable and radically different from our own. Chinese culture is said to be characterised by unquestioning loyalty to the State, emphasis on the group to the … Continue reading
Posted in China Series, International Affairs
2 Comments
ALISON BROINOWSKI. Quiet Australians wait for the truth
Forty-four Australian servicemen have been killed in action or have died in accidents since our forces went to Afghanistan in 2001, and since the deployments to Iraq and Syria. But in that period, at least ten times that number of … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs, Politics
7 Comments
COLIN MACKERRAS. China’s enduring core values.
Religion in China: What Price Freedom? Religious believers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) can certainly practise their faith freely and openly, provided the government does not see any threat to state power or security.
Posted in China Series
2 Comments
JASON YOUNG. China in a time of change.
China’s Environmental Problems, Policies and Prospects The economic transformation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has come at a tremendous environmental cost. In the wake of increasing public concern, serious policies have been put forth to revitalise the environment … Continue reading
Posted in China Series
1 Comment
ANDREW FARRAN. Brexit. The beginning is ending. The end is just beginning!
What explains Boris Johnson’s election and what does it mean for Brexit? Pure fatigue. It should never have gone on this way.
Posted in International Affairs
4 Comments
MIKE SCRAFTON: President Trump and the world at the end of 2019
Like the fierce Atlantic storms than weaken overtime and end as gentle zephyrs playing harmlessly along the coast, Trump’s blustery and boisterous foreign policy is visibly running out of wind. Strong words and sanctions have led to foreign policy impasses … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
3 Comments