World Affairs
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Taiwan endgames
The term endgame was originally applied to the final stages of a multifaceted matching of minds in the likes of chess or bridge. The term has also been widely used in politics to introduce and debate outcome investigations, as in, the Cold War endgame, the globalisation endgame and the Ukraine War endgame. This article considers Continue reading »
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Ethiopian Civil War and its manufactured humanitarian crisis
The brutal internal conflict between Ethiopian national forces under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has inflicted untold suffering on millions of innocent people. Continue reading »
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We are locked and loaded with our US partners against China
It would require a microscope to discern any difference between this government’s foreign policy priorities and those of the last. The verbiage is cheap and empty. It’s not aligned with actions. Labor has done nothing to change the direction and momentum established by the previous government. Continue reading »
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War with China looms: Questions that need answers
We now have a clearer picture of how deeply entangled with US strategic priorities and war preparations Australia has become. We also know that China is viewed as the principal adversary, and that US military planners and their Australian counterparts are busily planning for a major military confrontation with China, most likely over Taiwan. Continue reading »
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G20 forecast: Bleak outlook, chances of thunder
It’s the meeting season in Indonesia, but the chances of viable offspring are slim. Too much hate, too little harmony. That’s bad news for all. Continue reading »
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The mystery of the Nord Stream pipeline explosions
On 26 September, the Nordstream 1 and 2 pipelines were badly damaged in a deliberate act of sabotage that released huge amounts of methane gas. Almost all the Western media has pointed the finger at Russia but Moscow blames actors hostile to it. There are four plausible suspects: Russia, the US, Poland and Ukraine. Given Continue reading »
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The battle over development and democracy in the South Pacific
United States-Australian policy toward China demonstrates an increasing tension over what development and democracy means for people of the South Pacific. There is wide agreement that over the last forty years China has been exemplary for its rate of growth. Until relatively recently, this favourable assessment has been made by linking growth with development and Continue reading »
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‘Peaceful modernisation’: China’s offering to the Global South
Xi Jinping just offered the Global South a stark alternative to decades of western diktats, war, and economic duress. ‘Peaceful modernisation’ will establish sovereignty, economy, and independence for the world’s struggling states. Continue reading »
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What about the Taiwanese?
What you think of the story in the Indo-Pacific, connecting the US, Australia, China and Taiwan, depends on how you start telling it. Try the top line of both international human rights covenants: on civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights, respectively. “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of Continue reading »
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The Albanese reset: Stopping boats while treating onshore asylum seekers decently
In his message for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees which is entitled ‘Building the future with migrants and refugees’, Pope Francis says: ‘No one must be excluded. God’s plan is essentially inclusive and gives priority to those living on the existential peripheries. Among them are many migrants and refugees, displaced persons, and Continue reading »
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Asian Media – Rule of law declining internationally
In Asian media this week: Cambodia retains sorry legal status Continue reading »
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Sex, drugs and confusion: Sharia law in Bali?
Bali tourism is slowly picking up as Covid apparently retreats. The new threats are laws on drugs, religion and sex. Continue reading »
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Nord Stream: Urgent need for international investigations into crimes against the environment
The explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on September 26 in the Baltic Sea have been deemed an act of sabotage – but which nations or actors are responsible is yet to be known. Given the scale of the environmental crime, why are we not demanding the truth? What explains Western silence? Continue reading »
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Central Asia is crucial in 2022: Is Russia out, and is China (still) in?
The former Soviet states have been in the spotlight of international attention this year starting with the January unrest in Kazakhstan, Russian invasion of Ukraine, renewed hostilities over territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and border clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Here are the latest developments in a Central Asian region of increasing geostrategic importance. Continue reading »
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The costs of cruelty: Egypt profits, Israel colludes, Gazans pay
To enter the large open prison known as the Gaza Strip, hundreds of Palestinians travel daily from Cairo to Rafah on the Egyptian Gaza border. A car journey of 450 kms through the Sinai desert, in summer temperatures hovering around 40C, takes at best seven hours and must negotiate numerous Egyptian military checkpoints. Continue reading »
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A murder with US collusion to reflect upon
On the 17th of January, 1961, the first elected Prime Minister of newly independent Democratic Republic of Congo, was assassinated with the direct involvement of the Belgian government and collusion of the United States (Damian Zane, BBC, 20/06/2022). It is a damning indictment of the European and American claim to human rights and democratic values. Continue reading »
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Sinophobia, Russophobia, mutations of the same political virus
There is no doubt that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a serious war crime regardless of several provocations, including NATO’s eastward expansion and the role of the United States in the 2014 Maidan coup. Even so, the West is in no position to lecture Russia on sovereignty violations. Continue reading »
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Four Corners: Australia becomes US nuclear spear carrier in Asia
Four Corners last night showed how Australia is becoming ‘a proxy’ or is it ‘a patsy’ for the US in a possible conflict with China. Our actions invite a Chinese response. Sometimes I wonder why the Chinese bother about a reset in relations when we behave so foolishly at the behest of the US. China Continue reading »
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War crimes whistleblower McBride faces life sentence: Must watch interview!
Last week, the moral fibre of Australia’s political and judicial system was put to its latest test when war crimes whistleblower David McBride was put on trial. He faces up to 50 years in prison. Watch McBride tell his remarkable story here. Continue reading »
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Will we choose war or peace with China?
Surely we know from daily life that a bit of friendly dialogue with prospective “enemies” really can help defuse conflict? Continue reading »
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One country, two systems: Judiciary upholds Hong Kong’s legal system and way of life
Since Hong Kong was reunified with the motherland in 1997, its fortunes have been guided by the Basic Law, its mini-constitution. This guarantees that its capitalist system and way of life will remain unchanged for 50 years, and that it enjoys a “high degree of autonomy”. Continue reading »
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The remarkable resilience of Hong Kong
Vibrancy and efficiency combined with a particularly safe living environment all remain evident in Hong Kong in a way not commonly seen in other large, modern global cities. Still, the series of tests which the HKSAR faces today are acutely demanding. This, though, resonates with the position faced in most jurisdictions worldwide. Hong Kong, meanwhile, Continue reading »
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The story behind China’s fourth generation nuclear reactors
The fact that only China has implemented a Small Modular Nuclear Reactors is a testament to the skills and capacities of Chinese nuclear engineers and the policy makers that the West, despite renewed interest in the idea, will find difficult to match. Continue reading »
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There is no hope in a Voice to Parliament
The Voice to the Australian Parliament provides no hope and no future for First Nations imprisoned by ongoing colonialism. It will not work towards de-colonisation in Australia. In practice it will support colonial decision making which affects Aboriginal lives in the distant metropolis of Canberra. Continue reading »
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National Endowment for Democracy supports US aggression in Taiwan
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) does not have the democratic rights of the people in the 100 plus countries in which it operates at heart. It is solely interested in the maintenance of US power. Continue reading »
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Stan Grant and China knowledge: how do we measure up?
Stan Grant’s recent article on China demonstrates that our media’s knowledge of China is less than adequate. We do not need to say anything about the other self-described ‘China experts’ in the Australian media who are far less qualified. Continue reading »
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Australia’s problem with torture
Casting a keen eye over the human rights obligations of a state is tantamount to rummaging through untended, mouldering laundry. Often, the promise to wash such neglected items has been delayed or postponed. The reasons are often many, and not always insensible. And whose right is it to go through such things anyway? Continue reading »
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The party decides: review of the CCP National Congress
More of the same. That’s the outcome of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which concluded at the weekend. The implication for Australia is that we had better get used to it. Continue reading »
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Australia’s fear of China: renewed trust a matter of dialogue and respect
Fear of China is currently dominant in Australia’s public discourse, as reflected in recent opinion polls, surveys, and mainstream media. Fear of China is of course not new in Australia. It was a driver of Federation at the end of the 19th Century and the first act of the new Federal Parliament was long recognised Continue reading »
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In Asian media this week – Xi’s China narrative ‘largely true’
In Asian media this week: different views on what Xi said – and did not say – in his national party congress report. Continue reading »
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