Asia
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Can this Odd Couple survive?
Before debating with Democrat VP candidate Tim Walz, the Republican
nominee JD Vance said the contestants’ views matter little because voters go for the top of the ticket, not the bottom. Continue reading » -
Hong Kong, a unique bridge between East and West
The “one country, two systems” framework is not a hindrance, but rather, a strategic advantage that allows Hong Kong to serve as a bridge between East and West for global professionals, writes Virginia Lee. Continue reading »
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Japan’s surprising new prime minister
Japan’s new prime minister, Ishiba Shigeru, has called for an
Asian NATO. But salivating hawks should restrain the glee. Continue reading » -
As US ally blows up the Mideast, China preserves Asia’s prosperity
Launching Cold War 2.0 against a reluctant Beijing while enabling Israel to set fire to an entire region is now official American foreign policy. Continue reading »
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High noon on the Korean Peninsula
As a return visitor to the beautiful, lively and fascinating city of Seoul, I am beginning to learn something about the way South Korean people think about their future and their complex relationships with both neighbours and allies. Continue reading »
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Looming now in Indonesia: The age of uncertainty
There’ll soon be a new leader next door – ageing hardliner Prabowo Subianto. He’s Indonesia’s dark lord with a worrying past of alleged human rights abuses, yet overwhelmingly elected in the February national poll. He’ll take over on 20 October. Continue reading »
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Sri Lanka voters reject privileged elite – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: New leader will aim to end crushing austerity. Plus: China unveils economic rescue package; Indonesia’s middle class is shrinking; Beijing-New Delhi ties key to Asia; Pope Francis wants to visit China; Thailand plans mass same-sex wedding party. Continue reading »
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What’s at stake as Kashmir goes to the polls
The Indian Government will have to take a considered view on doing more than giving statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Continue reading »
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Four obstacles to India joining UN Security Council
Despite persistent lobbying, experts say it’s unlikely India will gain permanent membership of the UN Security Council anytime soon for several reasons. Continue reading »
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In a wheel chair to the peripheries
Eighty-seven-year-old Pope Francis’ trip to Indonesia, Papua-New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore shows he’s not slowing up. Continue reading »
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Desperate junta even more brutal – Asian Media Report
In Asia media this week: Myanmar recalls retired veterans. Plus: Race starts for Japan’s new PM; US Gaza stance an obstacle for AUKUS; Kolkata protests over gruesome rape-murder; China-Africa summit strengthens South-South ties; Pope’s Indonesia visit contradicts ‘clash of civilisations’. Continue reading »
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The cursed stone resists return
In an age of logic and evidence-based reasoning, modern research has revealed a thousand-year curse. It could be stopping the superstitious and spiritually-conscious Javanese from vigorously striving to return a thieved “emblem of Indonesian cultural heritage”. Continue reading »
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China holds whip hand in Myanmar’s civil war
As civil war rages, Myanmar is the most fragmented it has been since 1949. Back then, the recently established post-colonial government was beset on all sides, its various detractors challenging its ideology and its composition. Continue reading »
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Thailand’s establishment strikes another blow against democracy
On 7 August, the Constitutional Court of Thailand dissolved the Move Forward Party on the basis of its attempts to amend the country’s lese majeste law, banning its executives from politics for a decade. Following the party’s dissolution, its members merged into the Thinkakhao Chaovilai Party and retitled it the People’s Party. Just a week Continue reading »
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From Deng to Xi, the China miracle
On 22 August, China commemorated the 120th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping’s birth. The third Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China in 1978 marked the beginning of China’s reform and opening-up under the leadership of Deng. His reforms transformed China from one of the poorest countries to the world’s second-largest economy. China’s gross domestic Continue reading »
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Never mind the quality, feel the words
The paperwork signing late last month by Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto in Magelang (Central Java) is being paraded as an extraordinary advance in relationships. It’s not. Continue reading »
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Rewriting history will not serve Australia well
China has never expressed aggressive intentions towards Taiwan, it has repeatedly maintained it is prepared to wait, but will never rule out force to defend Taiwan Continue reading »
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Indonesia: going for gold
Australia and Indonesia are to have new defence cooperation agreement. A big deal for a government whose foreign policy is repeatedly trumped by defence; less of a deal for our northern neighbour which, like us, looks north for its prosperity and security. Continue reading »
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Anwar stands his ground on foreign policy – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Malaysian PM ignores Western critics. Plus: deadly attacks in impoverished Pakistan province; Myanmar trafficking syndicates now a global monster; Chinese spy-plane violates Japan’s air space; Zelenskyy plans peace summit in Global South; chance for Harris to change course on China. Continue reading »
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Australia should promote authentic ‘collective security’ in the Indo-Pacific
In a recent article for the Washington Post on the militarisation of Australia’s north, the Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, said: “We’re working together [with the United States] to deter future conflict and to provide for the collective security of the region in which we live.” Continue reading »
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Father knows best? Not this time
How comfy the throne, how rapid the change; a humble Republican from a riverbank shack is plotting to be King of Indonesia surrounded by his regal family of political courtiers. Continue reading »
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Exiting Pax Americana could save our bacon
Ordinary New Zealanders and Australians have little idea about the momentous changes coming our way. For a couple of centuries we have been outposts of a Western empire that is losing its dominance of the region. Continue reading »
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Malaysia needs ASEAN to navigate a pathway between ‘the West’ and ‘the rest’
Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship is an opportunity to provide clear regional leadership amid shifting geopolitics, but the country’s strategic goals remain uncertain despite a growing perception of closer alignment with China. Malaysia should focus on enhancing ASEAN centrality, balancing local sentiment against global interests, and sustaining ties with all major regional powers including the US, Continue reading »
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Bangladesh on the spot
If the interim government formed after the departure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina holds a fair election, the people will find out if political Islam is a dispensation they wish to vote for. Continue reading »
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Accusations of US regime-change operations in Pakistan and Bangladesh warrant UN attention
The very strong evidence of the U.S. role in toppling the government of Imran Khan in Pakistan raises the likelihood that something similar may have occurred in Bangladesh. Continue reading »
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UK and Hong Kong riots: similarities and differences
One would’ve had to have been living in a cave not to have been aware of the recent street violence in the United Kingdom. For those of us who lived through the riots here in Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020, there was an extreme feeling of déjà vu as we watched attacks on police, Continue reading »
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Court strikes again in Thai lawfare – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Another Shinawatra becomes PM in Thailand. Plus: Kishida ‘lost people’s trust’; Big losses as Asian Muslims shun KFC over Gaza; Manila reshapes its superpower ties; Gen Z revolution in Bangladesh; Racism a factor in Olympics row. Continue reading »
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NATO threatens Asia-Pacific stability
Fear of China is often used to explain NATO’s desire to expand into Asia. The headline reason masks a longing to restore a romanticised empire. Continue reading »
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Neither treaty nor pact, just troubling facts
ABC foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic’s ’exclusive’ claim that “Australia and Indonesia are on the brink of sealing an upgraded defence pact” hasn’t been refuted by Defence so is probably right. Continue reading »
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Team genocide walks out on Nagasaki commemorations
In an astonishing “Fuck you” to the survivors of the 1945 US nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, several Western countries including the US, Australia, Canada, France, Italy and the UK have just dropped a bombshell: reportedly announcing their ambassadors are shunning this week’s commemorations in solidarity with Israel. Continue reading »
