Singapore and Australia have nothing in common but share much. No similarities, yet multiple places where interests and attitudes touch or chime. Geographically, they are mismatched mates: the nation with a continent to itself shares …
Articles by: "Graeme Dobell"
Australia is re-embracing the Indo–Pacific as the defining geographic expression of defence strategy. The Indo–Pacific was the big new theme of Labor’s 2013 Defence White Paper, and it’ll have the same status in the Coalition’s …
Australia is offering India a renewed geostrategic embrace and an economic deal—notable efforts by Canberra to strengthen geostrategic convergence with India and to deepen geo-economic linkages. The bilateral effort with India feeds the regionalist understanding …
A few days after kicking Singapore out of the federation in 1965, Malaysia’s leader Tunku Abdul Rahman had a news conference to discuss the traumatic political divorce. The avuncular aristocrat was typically chirpy as he …
Australia’s nightmare about the US alliance has two versions: home alone or crushed by the embrace. Opposing dreads: Oz abandoned versus Oz abused. For decades, home alone was dominant. Oz would call but Washington would …
Over the past 50 years there were many times when Australia and Indonesia found it difficult to talk to each other about politics, strategy or diplomacy. We’re having another episode now. Economics, though, has always …
China’s economy may be facing its 1929 moment. Or this may be only the painful burst of a big bubble. Will it become a cascading catastrophe or just a crashing correction? Pay your money and …
For India and Australia, a striking new reality is in view. One of the great negatives in India’s traditional view of Australia is turning into a positive. Suddenly Australia’s alliance with the US makes us …
The Australian Army has to do more than fight. It must carry a legend and serve the slouch hat mystique. The mythology’s a century old and is as much a part of the Army as …
ASEAN’s leaders are worried about what history tells them about the future of Southeast Asia. The fears about the lessons of history are a discordant note as ASEAN steps up to a great moment in …
The strategic discussion between the US and China can’t be called a dialogue of the deaf. The talk is loud and each side hears the other. Yet a lot of mishearing is happening. Perhaps the …
Remember a decade ago when the US appealed for China to be a responsible stakeholder? Congratulations, Washington. Wish come true. China sure is responsible for a lot of things happening strategically and economically. And a …