Asia
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A time for multipolar peace
NATO has been shaping up to go global for quite some time. It has singularly failed as a so-called ‘defensive alliance’, having been involved in assorted bouts of warfare and bloodshed in Europe over the past three decades. Having come into existence ostensibly as a defensive bulwark against the threat of the Soviet Union, the Continue reading »
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Facts sacred, pacts not
It’s a hoary oldie publicity hook: Imagine something improbable, then feed off the controversy. Continue reading »
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Impossible trinity drives Southeast Asia’s prudent hedging
In Southeast Asia, hedging is a pragmatic policy that maintains options and mitigates risks. While some ASEAN states, like the Philippines, are aligning more closely with the United States, most are pursuing a more inclusive and selective approach to partnerships, ensuring concurrent engagement with China and the United States. This approach is more desirable in Continue reading »
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US ready to play ‘Tibet card’ – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Dangerous turn adds new anti-Beijing flashpoint. Plus: Bangkok banks used to supply Myanmar military; Why Hindu nationalists back Israel; Thais opt for neutrality in great-power war; How to stop China slipping into Japan trap; Online gambling an Indonesian epidemic. Continue reading »
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Malaysia, Thailand ready to join BRICS – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Anwar slams ‘insane’ US over Gaza. Plus: Putin, Kim reduce dependence on Beijing; Where child brides are considered normal; India prosecutes Arundhati Roy for Kashmir speech; American arms-makers struggle to match China; Big cities become lethal heat traps. Continue reading »
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What ye sow ye reap
There’s nothing profound about the Biblical quote; variations are embedded in many religions and cultures. Continue reading »
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Indonesia’s carbon crisis: will Islam get dirty hands?
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)(revival of the scholars) is Indonesia and the world’s largest Islamic organisation claiming almost 100 million members. If it digs coal it could become mega-rich. How dirty work marries with sending souls to paradise only Allah knows. Continue reading »
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Tyranny of proximity
The pundits are already in a tizz: What’ll happen to defence, AUKUS, trade and other relationships should Trump win in November? More pressing and certain is how we’ll cope when Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto takes office in October. Continue reading »
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Shangri-la Security Dialogue heralds important shift in Australia’s language on China
The 21st Shangri-la Security Dialogue, held in Singapore between 31 May and 2 June, saw the United States’ Secretary of Defence unveil a new way to describe his country’s Asia-Pacific policy, and hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart. China was unyielding on its “core interests”. Australian Defence Minister Marles embraced the “global rules-based Continue reading »
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Indian elections double victory for democracy – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Voters teach Modi a lesson. Plus: Graham Allison on Thucydides’ Trap latest assessment; China, US switch off the megaphones; IMF, World Bank warn of system break-up; summit opens way for rules-based competitive order; tobacco companies control smoking-law narrative. Continue reading »
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A better service may be transmitted
The Indonesian government’s TVRI channel is supposed to have negotiated an MOU with the ABC to swap programmes. A great idea – benefits all. That’s the initial reaction. Continue reading »
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North Asian Summit: hedging against the United States?
The Prime Ministers of China, Japan and South Korea met in Seoul on 27 May to resume regular annual meetings which began in 2008 and were held annually until 2019, when they were interrupted by COVID and “aspects of the international situation”. Continue reading »
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US pawns: Taiwanese separatists should stop deluding themselves
The island’s current political status is as good as it gets, and any further military partnership with Washington will deliver only diminishing returns. Continue reading »
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The militarist as milkman
ABC TV’s Landline programme has declared that “Australia’s dairy industry is licking its lips at the prospect of increased demand from Indonesia.” Continue reading »
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Anti-China tariffs are ‘blatant protectionism’ – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: TikTok stage of Sino-US rivalry ‘dangerous’. Plus: Human trafficking the curse of cyber-crime; Election body tells Modi to stop dividing society; Junta’s conscription campaign flagging; Xi, Putin give West the big finger; Thailand’s dugongs casualties of climate change. Continue reading »
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Rules show how not to win friends and influence people
The ABC is running jolly programmes on and for the Pacific as part of a government policy to counter Chinese influence. But in a closer, bigger and more important region already eyed by Beijing the national broadcaster and its paymaster offer indifference and ignorance. Or is that arrogance? Continue reading »
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Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s treacherous gambit is doomed to backfire
Taiwan’s new leader, Lai Ching-te, delivered his inaugural speech on Monday, comprehensively expounding his stance on “Taiwan independence”. Unlike his two predecessors, Chen Shui-bian and Tsai Ing-wen, Lai failed to clearly refer to the 1992 Consensus and the one-China principle, indirectly indicating his rejection of both crucial notions. Instead, Lai unabashedly referred to the notions Continue reading »
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Ðiên Biên Phú at 70: The best journalists report from “the other side”
How did the Vietnamese prevail at that world-historical moment? The answers shed light on the world we see outside our windows now. Continue reading »
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Vast inequality threatens democracy
The disparity is vast and immoral. Emotional language touches souls, but in Indonesia it should also grab economics and politics. The new government could demand reform. It wont. Continue reading »
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Albanese advised to come clean on AUKUS and China – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Government must persuade public on nuclear subs. Plus: Violence against women an Asian tragedy, too; Beijing, Manila clash over shoal agreement; West hastening loss of supremacy; Modi’s attacks show worry about poll; Hong Kong should promote its common law system. Continue reading »
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How Hong Kong can counter misconceptions and boost trust
Hong Kong appears to hang on every word from Beijing and eagerly awaits instructions on how to move forward, and therein lies the city’s biggest danger. Continue reading »
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Washington’s new man in Manila eases the burden on Canberra
In an essay entitled “Australia’s Choice” published in Australian Foreign Affairs in 2022, the leading Singaporean commentator on international relations, Kishore Mahbubani, highlighted how Australia needed to choose whether to be “a bridge between East and West in the Asian Century – or the tip of a spear projecting Western power into Asia” It transpires Continue reading »
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Thai police graft highlights bigger issues
There is no bigger news on the current Thai political scene than corruption among the top echelons of the police force. At issue is the tussle between Thailand’s two senior-most cops, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn and Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, both accusing each other of being on the take. Their high-stakes feud would normally be Continue reading »
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Will Solomon Islands’ new leader stay close to China?
Former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele has been elected the next prime minister of Solomon Islands, defeating the opposition leader, Matthew Wale, in a vote in parliament. Continue reading »
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China studies in crisis: Time for change
At a time when China is becoming increasingly more important to the Australian economy as well as to our stability and security in the Asia-Pacific, the overall decline in Australia’s China knowledge capability runs counter to our national sovereign interests. Continue reading »
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American hypocrisy over Tibet and Gaza boggles the mind
The world would be a better place if US politicians exercised the same conscientiousness over Palestine as they have over the Chinese autonomous region. Continue reading »
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The learned solution: Fix problems with violence
Are you well-armed, fired up, pitchfork to hand? The quarry is elusive, his background suspect but we know his name – DV. Are we getting closer? Continue reading »
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Modi puts religion at centre of campaign – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Hate speech an appeal to ‘bigoted supporters’. Plus: High-tech shake-up for China’s military; EU sings ‘old colonial song’; Bomb plot trial starts in Hong Kong; Recognition urged for Myanmar opposition; West’s chip restrictions ‘will not work’. Continue reading »
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Think-tanked
As a China-watching think tank winds up after Morrison-era cuts, a respected analyst reviews government funding for security-related research and education. Continue reading »
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The court decides; doom to follow?
As predicted in Pearls & Irritations earlier this month, an appeal by the two losing candidates in the 14 February Indonesian presidential election has been trounced this week by the Constitutional Court. Continue reading »
