Asia
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Keep calm and carry on with President Widodo
There’ll be few Valentine’s Day greetings and faux flower mall displays in Indonesia two years hence. That’s not because Muslim scholars will again warn followers not to celebrate ‘values that are considered to be against the Islamic Sharia.’ Continue reading »
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Quad in trouble in new cold war.
For those in Australia clinging to the ‘‘Indo-Pacific’’ as the titular proof of a new regional zeitgeist, where India is concerned, they are relying on a strategic partner that simply does not exist. Continue reading »
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ASEAN/US summit postponement raises serious questions for ASEAN about relations with US and China
ASEAN and its members want to be courted on their own merits and not as part of a scheme targeting China. Continue reading »
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Measuring the decibels of piety in Indonesia
Visitors to Indonesia beware: Sound off about visual pollution from billboards or trash in rivers or the CO2 assaults on lungs and listeners will nod. Continue reading »
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How the Netherlands is confronting past war crimes in Indonesia
The Dutch are squaring up to the wrongs of their nation’s colonial past, pushed by the conscience of young Hollanders shamed by revelations of villainy by their forebears. Continue reading »
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Fraser Oration excerpt: Foreign policy leadership must go beyond stoking fear
Today’s Australia is hard to recognise to that which Fraser had helped shape. Today our world view is narrower, more fearful, inward looking, and mean. Continue reading »
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Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy and China
After a year in preparation, President Biden has eventually issued his Indo Pacific Strategy (IPS) which seeks to present a comprehensive US approach to the region linked back to his pre-election vision of a foreign policy for “middle America”. Continue reading »
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Japan’s Asian future in the 21st century
The case for Japan to move firmly away from being bound to serve the paramount interests of the US in East Asia and beyond – as seen, erratically, from Washington – while emphasizing that Japanese interests are its foremost concern, is now demonstrably clear. Continue reading »
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US Indo-Pacific Strategy is built on false assumptions about ASEAN
The agenda of the new US Indo-Pacific Strategy for Southeast Asia is based on false assumptions and ignores fundamental differences between them and the U.S. Continue reading »
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The Quad: it’s the US playing catch-up with China, but where does it lead?
For the emergence of a sustainable and mutually tolerable “Pacific strategic system” we should be aiming to make that system inclusive, not split down the middle with Quad. Continue reading »
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Remembering Darwin … and Timor, February 1942
While 150 Australians died in the Timor campaign, 40,000 Timorese paid the real price. Has Australia made good the price in blood that they paid? We owe Timor a debt. Continue reading »
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The drums of war that are heard so loudly in Canberra beat rather more softly in Asia.
As the Winter Olympics started, China and Russia spelled out how close they have come and Australian media slipped into their default attack mode. But not so in Asia, where the media response was more varied and more muted. Continue reading »
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Japan’s master plan for victory: what could have been
In Australia we like to believe that the US Pacific Fleet saved us from Japanese attack in 1942-1944, but that is only partly true. Continue reading »
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Militarism outguns democracy in Okinawa politics
The construction of a US military base in the prefecture, driven by the national government, ignores strong opposition to the project among locals. Continue reading »
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Old people’s home for many Indonesians is a useful life with people they know
Australia’s aged-care policies include keeping frail oldies apart from society. Indonesia does the opposite – seemingly benefitting all. Continue reading »
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In the Asian media: worrying population numbers for China
Elsewhere, a diplomatic rift ends, the blind spot in the climate change debate, an anti-corruption mystery, and insects on the menu. Continue reading »
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Women’s rights in Indonesia: progress amid the division
Resistance to proposed legislation against sexual violence underlines the uphill task faced by moderates seeking change in a male-dominated society. Continue reading »
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China is deftly outmanoeuvring US across the Indo-Pacific region
Beijing understands that economic security created through trade is more enduring than when done through military superiority. Continue reading »
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In the Asian media: what our media ignored; caution on China, a problem for ASEAN, and grief tourism
Around Asia, the newspapers are covering how to deal with China, ASEAN’s Myanmar problem, and a surprising side effect of the pandemic in Singapore. Continue reading »
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Japan’s powerful hawks kill damaging leaks in pursuit of North Korea
Japan’s commitment to a campaign to return citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago betrays its desire to ensure North Korea remains an enemy. Continue reading »
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Development, sovereignty, ideology and the new Great Power Competition
A speech by one of the most substantial figures in US academia sets out a framework for peaceful co-operation between China and the US this century. Continue reading »
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Puff pieces harm one of Indonesia’s most respected newspapers
A publication that emerged as a champion of democracy after the long years of dictatorship has allowed its principles to go up in smoke. Continue reading »
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In the Asian media: democracy recession, Olympic boycott and Squid Game
Around Asia, the media is covering democracy conferences with scepticism, and the Olympic boycott with caution. Continue reading »
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Indonesia’s haphazard pandemic response is no holiday
While the president has banned Christmas holidays in a bid to prevent COVID transmission, the enforcement of decrees has been fitful at best. Continue reading »
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The AUKUS pact could help ASEAN’s relationship with China
Controversy in the ASEAN region over AUKUS has died down, but the group should take it as an opportunity to build trust with China. 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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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 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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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 »