World Affairs
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Brexit tensions push Britain and Europe closer to a damaging trade war
Complications over the Northern Ireland Protocol and pressure from Brexiteers are straining already fraught UK-EU ties. Continue reading »
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AUKUS: Our newest member of the acronym insecurity landscape
AUKUS is just the newest acronym in our foreign policy vocabulary, but what does this alliance mean for all the others? Continue reading »
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Graveyard of Empires: US repeated Soviet failures in Afghanistan
Having covered the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Trevor Watson reflects on his time experience of the Cold War, the CIA and the KGB. Continue reading »
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US military exonerated over botched, deadly drone strike
The United States should be treated as it treats other countries and be sanctioned for Afghanistan drone strikes. Continue reading »
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Why didn’t we check in with our Pacific neighbours about AUKUS?
Pacific nations haves a long-standing reason to be wary of all things nuclear. Yet here is our government high-handedly joining a deal to send nuclear-powered submarines patrolling the region. Continue reading »
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Colin Powell: Establishment warrior with a taste for regime change
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who died this week, was a man fully enrolled in the service of regime change and making the case for it. Continue reading »
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AUKUS alliance highlights US decline and Australian humiliation
By joining Australia and the UK in the AUKUS agreement, the US has highlighted its decline. And if that decline continues, Australia will find itself increasingly isolated. Continue reading »
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The return of the Taliban heightens India’s security concerns
The revival of a Taliban government in Kabul is a setback for India. The significant political, economic and security equities it had built up in Afghanistan over the past two decades have been wiped out. This includes the more than US$3 billion India invested in the country in the shape of several important infrastructure projects, Continue reading »
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The Afghan paradox: China, India and the future of Eurasia after the fall of Kabul
The fall of Kabul may be more than a historical footnote. It may yet become a key stop on a New Silk Road being forged across the vast expanses and indomitable mountains of Central Asia. Continue reading »
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How the Australian public is short-changed on Israel and Gaza
This book is the story of why many editors and journalists in Australia are in fear of upsetting the pro-Israel lobby and therefore — in my view — self-censoring. Continue reading »
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Back to the future with the Taliban?
The defeat of the United States and its allies and return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan have changed the regional landscape. Continue reading »
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AUKUS: NZ happy to be left out of new alliance to protect its China trade
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she wasn’t approached about joining the new AUKUS agreement and nor would she expect to be. But to be left in the dark by ANZAC mates about AUKUS is a dose of cold reality for NZ. Continue reading »
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Prospects for Palestinian recovery
Large and unprecedented protests in support of the Palestinian cause this year have led to developments which should enable Palestinians to expand their freedoms. Continue reading »
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AUSMIN and AUKUS: It’s even worse than you think
Nothing exemplifies the loss of national sovereignty, and the abandonment of strategic autonomy, like handing the war decision over to the US. The submarine issue is simply a blind. AUKUS just a distraction. Continue reading »
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Mending a neighbourhood fence: Australia’s strategic partnership with France in the Pacific
There is more at stake for the French-Australian relationship in the Pacific than just money after Australia last week cancelled the $90 billion contract with France’s Naval Group to build new submarines. Continue reading »
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Russian Duma elections mark a watershed moment in Russia-West relations
Russia, confident that it has seen off major US challenges to its sovereign independence, looks forward to its growing world role following significant elections on Sunday. Continue reading »
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Cavan Hogue: Chile coup was another example of Australian support for US interests
National Archives documents released last week revealed how closely Australia’s overseas spy agency worked with the CIA in the lead-up to the 1973 coup in Chile. Former diplomat Cavan Hogue reflects on the political and social environment at the time. Continue reading »
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Think tanks have put British democracy at risk. We have the same problem.
It’s arguable that Britain’s path to this point — where it is at risk of decaying into a ‘competitive authoritarian’ regime — can be traced back to the first of the ‘conservative’ think tanks. Continue reading »
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70 years and several sea changes later, ANZUS Treaty serves a different world
When the ANZUS Treaty was signed 70 years ago, Japan was considered a dangerous aggressor, and China was a friend. Continue reading »
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America’s wars in revenge for 9/11 caused nearly a million deaths
Countless innocent people died in the 20 years of war the United States launched in the name of its 9/11 dead. Tens of millions of innocent people were displaced. Continue reading »
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Relax Mr Dutton, China is not an invading power (like US and us)
The defence minister fails to acknowledge the superpowers’ efforts to calm tensions, or that the US has jumped in to claim some of our former markets. Continue reading »
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Solomons intervention merely serves Australia’s own Pacific interests
Australian resources assigned to curb Chinese expansion would be better used to counter vaccine hesitancy and lift supply. Continue reading »
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Australia’s twisted Taiwan foreign policy fetish
Australian politicians’ Taiwan fetish shows their bloodlust is unquenchable. It’s another iteration of the Cold War. Continue reading »
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Strategists admit West is goading China into war
US military experts say a war over Taiwan is desirable, because Asia’s growth to become world’s economic heartland has become unstoppable. Continue reading »
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China trade: the disturbing gap between US rhetoric and reality is emerging
The fervid declarations of US support for Australia amid China’s trade sanctions count for little: the data shows Australia stands alone in paying the costs.The US does not have our back. It is grabbing our markets in China. Continue reading »
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Shutting down ASPI: Hugh White, Peter Jennings and China
In responding to Hugh White’s analysis of the cost of a war over Taiwan, ASPI’s Peter Jennings makes the case for just how irrelevant his organisation is. Continue reading »
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Lv Shun: The Chinese port where a new world order emerged
Before World War I, a Japanese victory over Russia in the Chinese port of Lv Shun was the first such victory by an Asian power over a European power. Continue reading »
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Indo-Pacific concept is outdated, time is ripe for separation
As China’s influence grows and India revives an Indian Ocean forum, it might be time to do away with the whole concept of the “Indo-Pacific” region. Continue reading »
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What is Xi Jinping to the Chinese people?
Many analysts assert that since Xi Jinping became the Secretary General of the CCP, China has become increasingly assertive in its foreign policy. Continue reading »
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What the Asian media are saying: ASEAN, JI returns, ping-pong diplomacy
Xi Jinping’s appearance at ASEAN this week, a question mark over China’s naval power, concerns about Jemaah Islamiyah rebuilding, and more news from our region. Continue reading »
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China-Australia relations: A way out of the freeze?
China’s stated wish to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) could, if we are skilful, give us a path to promote the restoration of more normal diplomatic relations. Continue reading »
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US-China tariff stoush fosters a protection racket. Australia is on the ‘hit list’
The wrecking ball Trump took to the global trading system is still swinging, with implications for Australian trade and even the survival of the WTO. Continue reading »
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Postcard from Shanghai: Prospects are sunny, hope the cloud passes
Businesspeople in this bustling Chinese commercial hub have never seen the China-Australia relationship in such disrepair. Continue reading »
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Balancing diplomacy and direct action in ‘Magnitsky Act’ sanctions
Sponsored by a Labor senator and finessed by DFAT, a bill for a “Magnitsky Act” to sanction human rights abuses is poised to be tabled in Parliament. Continue reading »
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With campaigns against pandemic mandates the need for a human rights act has never been greater
After a pandemic response that required incursions on some human rights, the threat of governments expanding these powers further is high. Continue reading »
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Accusations of anti-Semitism should not shield Israel from criticism
In his adjournment speech, NSW Upper House Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane explains why an anti-Palestinianism statement is needed. Continue reading »
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Morrison turns China ‘threat’ into an election wedge
Borrowing from the Vietnam War-era Coalition playbook, the prime minister is putting domestic politics ahead of long-term policy for dealing with Beijing. Continue reading »
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The most remarkable aspect of Western attacks on China over Xinjiang is the unabashed hypocrisy
The US (abetted by the UK and Australia) in the so-called ”War on Terror”, has killed nearly 1 million Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen. Continue reading »
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Yesterday President Xi Jinping discussed South China Sea with ASEAN leaders
Will the South China Sea Code of Conduct herald a new order? China will present a united front with ASEAN countries. The US may have other ideas. Continue reading »
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Liberals’ fear-mongering won’t be effective: former Australian diplomat
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade claims that it “promotes and protects Australia’s international interests to support our security and prosperity.” I believe it has failed in this objective. Continue reading »
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Chinese takeaway from the Xi-Biden summit
The summit between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping taught us that Australian experts have misread the US’s relationship with China. Continue reading »
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Conservatives undermine push against sexual violence on Indonesian campuses
Hardline Muslim organisations insist Indonesia’s moves to curb sexual harassment will encourage adultery and sex outside marriage. Continue reading »
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In a time of rapid global change, APEC matters more than ever
APEC is a platform for dialogue on complex issues, and its nurturing of regional cooperation and engagement strengthens the rules-based global order. Continue reading »
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Wang Huning, the Chinese Communist who understands America
But does anybody in Washington DC understand China like Wang Huning understands America? Continue reading »
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Myanmar nightmare: Junta squeezes civic space and disrupts civil aid
The humanitarian and development crisis in Myanmar requires a new approach to traditional donor accountability if the global community is to avert a major catastrophe in the country. Continue reading »
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In Myanmar, oppression, disease and stymied aid tilt the crisis towards disaster
With the crisis in Myanmar intensifying this week, Ian Mannix, in a two-part report, looks at the conflict and how aid agencies are responding. Continue reading »
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The one word that will stop sleepwalking our way to war over Taiwan.
Are we sleepwalking our way to war? Australia should be reminding China and the US that it’s vital to avoid conflict over Taiwan. Continue reading »
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Is Xi Jinping’s support as strong as his predecessors?
Chinese President Xi Jinping is central to the Communist Party, and also part of a historical trajectory that includes Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Continue reading »
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Paul Keating responds to Peter Hartcher’s ‘King Canute’ column
Peter Hartcher has a lot to answer for, writes Paul Keating in a response to the Nine columnist that did not make it to print. Continue reading »
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