The ‘Quad’ meeting of Indian, Japanese, US and Australian foreign ministers in Tokyo earlier this week has resulted in the usual suspects saying the usual things. China’s foreign ministry expressed outrage and called on these …
Articles by: "Michael Shoebridge"
Beijing’s party-controlled legal system and two-million-person Ministry of Public Security are key tools for clamping down on internal dissent and ensuring that the information available to China’s citizens perpetuates the Chinese Communist Party’s rule. This …
It’s true that Australia is underinvesting in diplomacy given the type of world we are living in. But it’s wrongheaded to blame MPs and ministers for not simply understanding the intrinsic value of the Department …
Australia has enormous opportunities to influence the world for good, in ways that advance our wellbeing, security and prosperity. That’s the most striking message from ASPI’s new collection of ‘After Covid’ articles and policy proposals, …
So what if a small Chinese tech company called Zhenhua Data holds personal information on at least 2.4 million people—including government, corporate and media leaders and influencers—from countries across the globe? Isn’t this just open-source …
The prospect that the Australian Financial Review’s Mike Smith and the ABC’s Bill Birtles were going to spend months in China’s notorious black jails, being interrogated and having no access to lawyers, drove them to …
The detention of Australian journalist Cheng Lei by authorities in Beijing, and its timing, sit within the Chinese government’s larger strategy to expand its international influence and power over others. But it also shows the …
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg ended the prospects of Japan’s Kirin group selling its $600 million Australian Lion Dairy and Drinks business to Chinese dairy firm Mengniu when he gave his preliminary view that the sale ‘would be …
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s proposed foreign relations bill is all about closing the seams in our federation and giving practical effect to the Commonwealth’s constitutional power on foreign relations. It’s necessary primarily because other countries …
Whatever Beijing may think about Donald Trump’s term as US president, we now know that its greatest wish is for US–China relations to return to the days of Barack Obama’s administration, when the two countries’ …
Australian companies are getting the point—trade with China is hostage to the actions of the ruling Chinese Communist Party regardless of consumer desires or business partnerships formed over decades. We now need to move beyond …
Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds pulled off a magic trick at this week’s AUSMIN meeting. Australian decisions and directions—on military power, digital technology, misinformation and military supply chains—set the scene …