This afternoon just before question time, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to honour Harold Holt as we approach 50 years since his disappearance off Cheviot Beach. So far, 2017 has passed with little acknowledgement …
Debate: "General"
Many had assumed that the situation in the Middle East would stabilise after the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Unfortunately, the region appears to have become even more volatile and a …
Sea state Indian Naval Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba expressed concern at China’s naval presence—including submarines—in the Indian Ocean. India fears that the Chinese navy’s plan to deploy warships to Gwadar, a Chinese-owned port in Pakistan, …
Deep divisions within Europe are increasingly threatening the values upon which the European project of ‘ever closer union’ is based. In 2015, during the refugee crisis, many commentators saw a divide between German Chancellor Angela …
Hard on the heels of increasingly warm years, harvest-destroying heatwaves, and multiple billion-dollar storms comes a frightening number: 407. That is the ambient concentration of CO2 as of July 2017, the highest it has ever …
Over the past year, Cambodia’s ruling party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), has dramatically increased its pressure on its political opponents and civil society. Democracy in Cambodia has always been fraught, and elections are not …
Foreign policy white paper and WPS In late November, Australia released its first foreign policy white paper since 2003. While Katrina Lee-Koo has acknowledged that it represents a ‘step in the right direction’ in terms …
Since September 2016, China Telecom has replaced satellite stations on Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands with 4G fibre-optic cable stations. Fibre-optic cables are much faster and much more …
Reaching beyond the usual language of partnership with the South Pacific, Australia is offering economic and security integration. The integration policy is a new ideal: not just neighbours, but joined. It’s a complex task for …
The world Britain is preparing to settle its ‘divorce bill’ with the European Union. Initial claims from presumptuous Brexiteers that Britain would be saving, not spending, have proved false—in the short term, at least. The …
In his classic study of Polish history, Norman Davies describes Poland in the late 18th century as ‘God’s playground’. That description could be applied to Lebanon today. Like Poland back then, Lebanon suffers from a …
The 2017 foreign policy white paper declares that a ‘strong European Union (EU) remains vital to Australia’s interests and will be an increasingly important partner in protecting and promoting a rules-based international order’. But Europe …