I’ve previously written on The Strategist that it’s time for Australian policymakers and academics to see the South Pacific as an ‘arc of opportunity’, rather than an ‘arc of instability’ (PDF). That proposal was tested …
Debate: "Australia and its Region"
This is part III of a series on Australia–New Zealand relations (part I here, part II here). To be in Canberra in 1985–86 as the ANZUS alliance was shaken until it collapsed and died was to witness the …
At the beginning of the year I predicted that developments in Fiji had the potential to outbid almost all else in terms of political significance in the region this year. So far, this doesn’t seem …
This is part II of a series on Australia–New Zealand relations (part I here). To stray into areas that are simultaneously sacred yet deeply unsafe, look at New Zealand’s strength in important areas such as …
I explained yesterday how the fear of driving Fiji into China’s arms has been wrongly used by what I call the ‘appeasement lobby’ as a reason to lessen the isolation of Fiji’s regime. It isn’t …
Australian policy on Fiji is shifting to appeasement in ways that will gladden the military regime and sadden Fijians. What might be called the Bainimarama appeasement lobby—broadly speaking a group of academics and journalists who …
The short answer is ‘not very much’. And that’s a good thing. In the past we’ve had government and opposition policy pronouncements such as the 2009 Defence White Paper, proposed asylum seekers solutions in East …
On my flight home from Fiji recently, I was struck by the continuing negativism of the arguments regarding Australian relations with Fiji. Rowan Callick’s commentary in the Weekend Australian is another example of a tough …
The world should be thinking twice about lauding Myanmar’s nascent reforms. Recent air strikes directed at Kachin rebels in Shan state by the Myanmar government exacerbate one of the longest-standing civil wars in the country’s …
The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and its legacy have been the subject of debate among critical Solomon Islanders and foreign analysts. Many ordinary Solomon Islanders believe that if RAMSI leaves, crises will …
In 1999 Paul Dibb used the concept ‘arc of instability‘ to describe the security challenges facing the Pacific. The concept had its roots in the geographic school of strategic thinking, which holds that Australia’s main strategic …
Richard Herr’s recent item on intra-regional relationships in the Pacific is a timely contribution to this discussion. The past, present and future of regionalism and sub-regionalism in this part of the world are topics of …