The spirit of the age seems to foster division more than it nurtures unity. The G7 Summit is meeting in Hiroshima where thousands were killed at breakfast time on a summer’s morning, August 6, 1945. The G7 leaders meet as a hostile imagination fuels a terrifying arms race. How can we yet pull out of Continue reading »
International Relations
In Asian Media this week: Big economies talk about rules-based order. Plus: empire strikes back in Imran Khan showdown; hot Asian summers will add to climate change; US return to Philippines sparks sex abuse fears; Gandhi bests Modi in latest test; post-poll scenarios after progressive victory in Thailand. The G7 is meeting this weekend in Continue reading »
Ever since the six-day war of 1967, when Israel occupied the whole of Jerusalem, a triumphant march of conquest, called ‘Jerusalem Day March’ takes over the Holy City. How would you feel if this was your home, your neighbourhood and you and your family were faced with hoards of religious fanatics, waving the Israeli flag, Continue reading »
Joe Biden isn’t coming to Australia. The good news is he hasn’t had a senior moment and forgotten all about an appointment with another interchangeable ‘fella down under’. The bad news is that the United States’ increasingly poisonous domestic politics and crises take priority over everything else, including the long-term security of the Indo-Pacific. To Continue reading »
More Indonesians than Americans are likely to vote in key presidential elections next year. But Australia is focusing on distant North America, not adjacent Southeast Asia, the zone where the Titans could clash. India is the world’s largest democracy – population 1.3 billion. It’s growing so fast that it will soon overtake one-party China. Far Continue reading »
Almost the first thing Anthony Albanese did after becoming PM was to jump on a plane for a QUAD meeting in Tokyo. He was accompanied by Andrew Shearer, the head of the Office of National Intelligence. Ever since, Albanese has been in the grip of our intelligence services which have been effectively colonised by the Continue reading »
After the Arab League re-admits Syria, Washington threatens new sanctions to prevent reconstruction. Syria’s re-admission to the Arab League is a milestone in the country’s continued recovery from a decade-long war that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of refugees, and widespread destruction. For the US, the move has different implications. “The decision to Continue reading »
On 10 May New Zealand and Chinese military officials met in Xi’an, China for their 11th Strategic Defence Dialogue, the first after a Covid gap of three years. The press releases from both sides were brief, anodyne and uninformative. The Chinese Ministry of National Defence said: “The two sides candidly exchanged views on international and Continue reading »
The progressive Move Forward Party has crushed its pro-military rivals and beaten the party that has won most votes in every other election since 2001. But its anti-establishment policies mean institutional resistance is inevitable as it tries to form a government. Thailand’s national elections were a triumph for pro-democracy forces and a repudiation of the Continue reading »
On May 12, the former president of the UN Security Council, Kishore Mahbubani, warned Hong Kong that it faced ongoing turbulence amidst global tensions. It should expect to be “kicked around like a football” over the next decade, although this has already started. Since 2020, the US has sought to harm Hong Kong in various Continue reading »