Asia
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BEN HILLMAN. Xinjiang and the “Chinese Dream”.
Since ethnic riots broke out in Urumqi in 2009, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has steadily turned Xinjiang into a provincial police state. Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities are being closely surveilled and detained by security forces. Continue reading »
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TONY KEVIN. What Aust Govt should do about the Khashoggi murder and other great Saudi crimes of state.
I believe Khashoggi was coldly and brutally murdered in a symbolic and deliberate medieval deterrent state punishment in a Saudi consulate on foreign soil. Australia should declare the Saudi Arabian Ambassador here persona non grata, and should withdraw our Ambassador in Saudi Arabia. Continue reading »
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GARY SANDS. Vatican–China relations are warming up, but at what cost?
The Vatican is drawing closer to China. With the signing in September 2018 of a provisional agreement on the long-contested appointment of bishops in China, many are questioning what this development means for Catholicism in China and for the Vatican’s ties with Taiwan. This article was published by East Asia Forum on the 23rd of Continue reading »
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BOB CARR. Australians have no interest in joining U.S. cold war against China
Alexander Downer chewed ruminatively on his steak: “If you want a cold war with China, you will get a cold war with China.” Continue reading »
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MACK WILLIAMS. Korea: Still many challenges ahead
Despite President Trump’s exchange of “love letters” with the North Korean leader, from the public record it seems that Secretary of State Pompeo’s last discussions with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang failed to achieve any significant breakthrough on denuclearisation. But there have been several important developments in the Korean scene over the past few months which Continue reading »
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ALI KAZAK. Mr Morrison in Jerusalem: serving war or peace?
In his recent press conference Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: he is open to the suggestion of recognition of Israel’s capital in West Jerusalem, “the opportunity” for “a capital for a Palestinian Authority” in East Jerusalem and the Government’s commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East living side by side remains Australia’s policy. Continue reading »
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PETER VARGHESE. Australian Universities and China. Part 2 of 2
My remarks today are very much a personal perspective, drawing on my past engagement with China as a foreign policy practitioner and informed by my current role, but it is not an official University of Queensland position. Today I wish to talk about what China means to Australian universities: what are the issues we face, Continue reading »
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DAVID WOLPE. The Japanese Man Who Saved 6,000 Jews With His Handwriting.
What the astonishing Chiune Sugihara teaches us about moral heroism. Continue reading »
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PETER VARGHESE. Australian Universities and China. Part 1 of 2
My remarks today are very much a personal perspective, drawing on my past engagement with China as a foreign policy practitioner and informed by my current role, but it is not an official University of Queensland position. Today I wish to talk about what China means to Australian universities: what are the issues we face, Continue reading »
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JIEH-YUNG LO. Morrison attempts his own Australia-China reset.
When you see a Prime Minister wonder into a marginal seat, you know a federal election is on the horizon. Scott Morrison did just that at the start of this month when he joined local member David Coleman in the ultra marginal seat of Banks. The purpose: to reconnect with the electorate’s large Chinese-Australian population Continue reading »
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BERTIL LINTER. China’s shifting view on the Korean Peninsula (Asian Times, 10.10.18)
As US-China relations deteriorate on various fronts, the last thing Beijing wants is for North Korea to fall into Washington’s sphere of influence Continue reading »
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WILLIAM PESEK. In Asia, ghosts of crises past return amid Trumpian trade war.
In a region where traces of the 2008 and 1997-98 carnage linger, Washington’s assault on Asia’s biggest growth engine could ignite another disaster. Continue reading »
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SHIRO ARMSTRONG. Japan’s high stakes diplomacy with the US and China. (East Asia Forum 14.10.2018)
Japan is now fully embarked on navigating a course through the economic and national security minefield that lies between the United States and China. Continue reading »
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GEOFF RABY. East Asia Just Became a More Dangerous Place
Hugh White in his controversial 2010 book, China Choice, warned Australian policy makers that with the rise of China, the time would come when the US would have to make a choice as to whether to withdraw gradually from East Asia and allow China strategic space for its continued expansion or to take a stand Continue reading »
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LOGAN PAULEY. China stakes out a role for itself in post-war Syria.
As Syria’s civil war winds down, China is looking to establish itself as an economic, and possibly military, partner for the post-war period. Continue reading »
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CHENGXIN PAN. Pence on China: reviving a neo-conservative Dream (Lowy Institute, 08.10.18)
Ever wondered who is now the culprit for many of the woes of the United States? Then look no further than a major speech delivered by US Vice President Mike Pence last week. Continue reading »
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DENISE FISHER. New Caledonia’s independence referendum
On 4 November, indigenous and some other longstanding New Caledonian residents will vote on the question “Do you want New Caledonia to accede to full sovereignty and become independent?” The referendum process will re-shape the role of France in the South Pacific at a time of geostrategic change, and yet is passing relatively unmarked in Continue reading »
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SCOTT MORRISON. Speech at Chinese-Australian Community Event
This speech by Scott Morrison on 4 October 2018 does not seem to have been run anywhere in the mainstream media. It is the most constructive statement from the government in a long time. Interestingly, the speech was posted on the Australian Embassy website in Beijing six days ago! (John Menadue) Continue reading »
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CAVAN HOGUE. Do we really need an American Ambassador? Or will Rupert Murdoch do?
Do we really need an American ambassador? Ambassadors are paid to represent their own country, not ours, so what’s in it for us? Do we really need an imperial legate to keep us in line when we never get out of line? Our media relies on American sources for its news and Rupert Murdoch makes Continue reading »
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STEPHEN COSTELLO. Who controls US policy on the Korean peninsula? (East Asia Forum, 5 October 2018)
Much has been made of the theatrical stand-off between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. But most signs show that the two could quickly reach a deal on how to move forward with DPRK denuclearisation and economic development. The real tension is between Trump, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in Continue reading »
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JANE PERLEZ. Pence’s China Speech Seen as Portent of a ‘New Cold War’ (New York Times, 05.10.18)
BEIJING — Vice President Mike Pence’s accusations in a stinging speech Thursday warning of a tougher approach toward Beijing may have been familiar to China’s leaders. But until now, such remarks were delivered in private, in fairly decorous terms, and rarely threatened direct action. In Australia,another important ally, the government has been saying many of Continue reading »
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WILLIAM BRIGGS The anti-China syndrome at work in far away Tasmania.
A little over a century ago, the world plunged into war. The call to nationalism, national identity and symbolism was carefully promoted. The conditions that created that war still echo. We see, today, an integrated global capitalism in contradiction to a powerful nation-state system. We see fears, animosities and distrust between peoples and states rise Continue reading »
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President Moon Jae-in is driving the Korea peace train.
The Korean War is 68 years old. Despite a ceasefire in effect since 1953, the heavily militarized border is still patrolled by soldiers, ringed with barbed wire and covered in land mines. Almost seven decades of containing, isolating and embargoing North Korea have demonstrably failed. It is time to pause and reconsider. South Korean President Continue reading »
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China and New World Order. North Korea Part 4
The most acute contemporary manifestation of the demand on China to demonstrate responsible leadership is the challenge of North Korea’s nuclear weapons. Le Hong Hiep speculated on the prospect of a grand bargain between Trump and Xi when they met at Mar-a-Lago to accommodate US concerns on its massive bilateral trade deficit and on North Continue reading »
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China and New World Order. Rules Based Global Order Part 5
China recognizes that it has been a major beneficiary of the existing international order and it has proven to be a fast learner in operating as a responsible power within that order. Its primary goal therefore will not be to perturb the order, but to gain greater influence in writing the rules and running the Continue reading »
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DUNCAN GRAHAM. When giving aid, be humble.
In 2015 then PM Tony Abbott sought to save the lives of two convicted heroin traffickers. He reminded Indonesians that Australians had given $1 billion in emergency aid and rehabilitation following the 2004 Aceh tsunami, so please show mercy. He should have been better advised: Indonesians reacted angrily and made gestures of raising funds to Continue reading »
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SAM BATEMAN. Understanding American Freedom of Navigation Operation(FONOP) in the South China Sea
The recent encounter between American and Chinese warships in the South China Sea could be the fore-runner of more serious incidents unless both parties show more restraint. Continue reading »
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NILE BOWIE. The world according to Mahathir.
Malaysian premier is re-emerging as a strident yet pacifist spokesman for the non-aligned interests of the developing world. Continue reading »
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MARTIN WOLF. Donald Trump is wrong: China is not Mexico (Financial Times)
“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win.” This tweet of March 2 set out the aims and means of Donald Trump’s trade policy. Continue reading »
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China and the New World Order. China–USA Part 2
Westerners may believe that the growing integration and interdependence of China with the regional and international economy makes armed conflict too costly to contemplate and that the Pacific military balance is so heavily in US favour that China would not be foolish enough to challenge Washington. But what if Beijing believes that the costs to Continue reading »