US President Joe Biden has hit the ground running. In his first two days in office, he signed 17 executive orders—more than any previous US president over the same period. He rejoined the World Health …
Articles by: "Michael Shoebridge"
Xi Jinping’s control over the China Coast Guard, together with a new law that authorises the coastguard to use force against foreign ships in places China defines as in its own, is a big change …
Originally published 16 May 2020. Can Australia stop the Chinese government’s economic coercion against our government and businesses? Yes. All it would take is for Australian political leaders and parliaments to align our national policies, …
Christmas sometimes brings presents you don’t expect—this year, for me, an excitingly titled ‘Request for expressions of interest’ that appeared on AusTender is one of them. It’s about Australia’s peak intelligence agency, the Office of …
So, all Australian coal exports to China seem to have stopped. As usual, the Chinese government is keeping its actual decisions to itself and letting them leach out through state media and other sources. In this …
The contrast between Australia’s open system of government and China’s authoritarian system was put on graphic display yesterday through Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lijian Zhao, when he tweeted a fake image and criticised Australia for human …
How could 39 alleged unlawful killings of Afghan people by members of Australia’s special forces have occurred over years while no officer in command of those soldiers knew about or had reasonable grounds to suspect …
Australian lobster, wine, beef, barley, cotton and copper ore sales to Chinese consumers and companies are being stopped by the Chinese government. What’s happening is not just a transitory interruption, regardless of whether the blanket …
Plenty of commentary and analysis has said what’s at stake in the contest between US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Speculation about US policy approaches to vexed issues that Australia has deep …
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 …
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 …